Blood of Dronicus
by Aidan J S Cross
Summary: Skeletor drinks the blood of an ancient tyrant who fed on the blood of young warriors, which imbues him with incredible power. With He-Man trapped in the dungeons of a terrifying Gothic castle, Eternia comes under threat from the BLOOD OF DRONICUS.
1. Default Chapter

BLOOD OF DRONICUS

by 

Aidan Cross

03/24/04

* * *

Atop a steep, rocky hill, surrounded by a dense green jungle of exotic trees, the tall, gaunt towers of a dark and ancient castle were clustered together, standing high and daunting, forming a sinister dark silhouette against a fierce sky of swirling black clouds. CRASH! The thunder roared in the heavens above, and a flash of bolt lightning illuminated the ancient edifice, for a split second making its solid gray walls, decorated with hundreds of terrifying gargoyles, visible to the naked eye before a torrent of heavy rain burst out from the clouds and poured down over the foreboding castle. 

CRASH! Another bolt of lightning flashed down, this time illuminating three terrifying figures emerging from the trees and ascending the hill. The figure at the rear was covered from head to toe in thick, reddish-brown fur, and his huge, muscular frame was hunched with exhaustion as he followed the other two up the hill, his huge clawed feet leaving colossal footprints on the ground. The figure in the middle was less repulsive- in fact, the exact opposite- but equally intimidating in appearance, if not more so. It was the figure of a tall and extremely beautiful woman, her long black cape blowing in the wind behind her, giving her an air of domineering authority. Over her torso she wore a dark purple bodysuit decorated with gleaming exotic jewellery, and her head was covered by a tightly fitted black helmet topped with blue and purple prongs. Her large, dark and piercing eyes, surrounded by striking black mascara, peered out from above her high cheekbones, casting a seductive but evil glare towards the towers of the castle. The figure in the lead was by far the most terrifying of the three- it was the figure of a man dressed in a long, thick black robe, carrying a staff topped with the skull of a ram in his bony blue hand. His torso was covered entirely in shining black armor, a metal plate bearing the symbol of crossed bones placed over his chest plate. But the most terrifying thing about this man was that his face, which peered out from beneath the shadow of his hood, was completely fleshless- it was nothing more than a monstrous yellowed skull, the glow of red, sunken eyes beaming out furiously from the eye sockets. And the eyes were beaming towards nothing other than the huge castle itself, upon which they glared with a demented fixation. 

The three figures finally reached the top of the hill, and the arms of the leader spread out in triumph. A maniacal, deafening laugh could then be heard to emit from his opening jaw, blending in against the roar of the thunder and the crashing of the rain. 

"At last!" he cried out, his tones ringing with insanity. "Castle Dronicus stands before me- and soon I, Skeletor, will possess the glorious power which lies within!" 

"WE will possess the power, Skeletor," spoke the female figure, in a smooth, seductive voice, "that is, if you abide by your promise." 

"Yes, you will absorb a share of the power too…" said Skeletor, "I will remain your master… but you, Evil-Lyn, will rule beside me as the blood of Dronicus flows in our veins!" 

"And what about me?" spoke the furry figure, in a deep, bestial voice, "Don't I deserve a share of the power, as a reward for my services?" 

"You are nothing but a mere servant, Beast Man!" growled Skeletor, shifting the glare of his red eyes towards the man of the wild. "You will be paid, as ever… but the power of this castle belongs to ME!" He raised his arms once again and looked up at the incredible, gothic structure that towered above them. 

"If the legend be true…" said Evil-Lyn ponderously. 

"The legend IS true- I have no doubt about it!" shouted Skeletor, "But let us waste no time- now we are here, we must veer towards our goal!" He raised his staff, and fired a blast from the eyes of the ram skull, towards the enormous, wooden doors of the castle. 

Several blasts emitted from the staff, one after the other, each one hitting the doors in the center. Eventually, the force of the blasts caused the doors to creak open slowly, for the first time in thousands of years. 

"Forward, my minions!" commanded Skeletor, and the evil trio moved briskly forward, into the blackness that lay beyond the ancient doors. 

Once inside the castle, they could see little other than blackness. It was difficult to make out any details, for their only source of light was the light of the twin moons seeping in through the windows and the open doorway. 

"I just see black…" growled Beast Man lowly, "How we gonna find our way?" 

"No problem for me," said Evil-Lyn, and she held out her hand in front of her. A sphere of light formed in mid-air, and slowly solidified into her crystal ball, which instantly began to glow with a radiant light. The light from the crystal ball immediately illuminated the chamber, and the evil trio could see the wide range of tall, arched doorways around its edges, thousands of gruesome gargoyles peering out from the walls. 

"Where to now?" said Beast Man. 

"According to the legend, the room we seek is located behind a secret doorway within the throne room," replied Skeletor, "So my guess is we try that door!" he pointed his bony finger towards the largest, highest doorway within the chamber. They moved towards the doorway, and Skeletor fired a single bolt from the eyes of his staff, which hit the huge wooden doors heavily in the center, and a loud creaking noise filled the chamber as the ancient doors inched open. 

The light from Evil-Lyn's crystal ball revealed a huge, long room beyond the doors, at the end of which stood a colossal throne, at the foot of which lay a huge mound of skulls and bones, a puddle of blood which had been dry for centuries staining the ground beneath them. 

The roar of the thunder filled the room from outside, and a bat flapped through the air above the trio's heads. "Here we are…" said Skeletor, "the throne room of Castle Dronicus. Our target lies close by…" 

"I seem to sense a magical aura from the far end of the room," said Evil-Lyn, "close to the throne!" 

"As do I." replied Skeletor, "So in that direction we shall head." The skull-faced warlord led his evil minions across to the throne, and Skeletor's sunken eyes lit up bright red when he noticed an inscription on one section of the wall, around which was what looked like the outline of a sealed doorway. 

"At last!" he cried out, "The blood of Dronicus lies beyond that sealed doorway!" 

"What does the inscription say?" asked Evil-Lyn, unable to exactly decipher the inscription, which was written in the language of ancient Eternia. 

Skeletor fixed his eyes upon the inscription, and began to read. 

_"Beyond this doorway lies the altar by which the cursed Prince Dronicus met his doom. Over the altar runs his hexed blood, the blood which shall flow for all eternity. Cursed will be he who drinks the blood of Dronicus, as the evil magic of the fiend himself courses through his veins."_

"Doesn't sound so cursed to me…" said Evil-Lyn schemingly. 

"Blessed would be a more apt description," replied Skeletor. "Once the blood of Dronicus flows in my veins I will have the power to enslave all of Eternia… and rule this world myself!" 

"With me at your side." added Evil-Lyn. "Weren't they sexist, those ancient Eternians? They forgot to mention that _she_ who drinks the blood of Dronicus will become equally powerful as _he_." 

"I don't get it," slurred Beast Man, "Who is this Dronicus anyway?" 

"That is no concern of yours, furball!" said Skeletor. "Only of ours!" Then he turned to face the door, held out his left hand, and began to recite a magic spell. 

"Let the secret door unseal… the blood of Dronicus to us reveal!" 

A powerful, bright stream of magic drifted from the palm of his hand towards the sealed door, and within a moment, the door began to unseal, and slowly swung backwards… revealing a small room, lit alight by burning torch lamps on both of its sides, magical torch lamps that had been burning for centuries. At the foot of the room was a large, golden altar… and over the altar, running through a kind of fountain that trickled into a small pool in the ground beneath it, was an endless flow of sparkling crimson blood… the blood of Dronicus. 

Evil-Lyn's eyes lit up with awe and excitement. "It's beautiful…" she said, "we must persist with our plan _at once_!" 

"Indeed we shall," said Skeletor, and he and Evil-Lyn stepped forth. Beast Man followed them, but Skeletor abruptly spun round and held out his hand to urge Beast Man back. "I've told you already… this part of the plan is no business of yours," he said, and shot a small beam of yellow magical power towards the door, which swung closed again, concealing Beast Man from view. Skeletor and Evil-Lyn were alone with the blood of Dronicus. 

Evil-Lyn held out her crystal ball, and it slowly vanished in a flash of light. It was no longer needed for a light source. 

"Are you ready?" asked Skeletor, gazing into Evil-Lyn's large, dark eyes. 

"I most definitely am," replied Evil-Lyn, gazing back into the sunken eyes hidden deep within the shadows of his bone cavities. Ever since he had taught her the powers of black magic she had felt a strong bond with Skeletor, as her powers had increased she felt that they were destined to share the ultimate power together. At this moment, they were about to move several steps closer to gaining that power. 

"Then let us do it," replied Skeletor. They turned to face the fountain of blood that ran before them, and moved closer to it, slowly but eagerly. Skeletor's eyes blazed with excitement as they neared the blood. The power of Dronicus was right within his grasp. He placed his staff against the wall, then he turned his fleshless head once more, and gazed back into the beautiful eyes of Evil-Lyn, the red glow from his own eyes reflected in her pupils. He gently placed his bony hands on her firm, delicate shoulders. Then he let their bodies fall smoothly sideways, towards the fountain, and they bathed their heads in the pool of crimson blood below the altar, as the blood trickled down from above. 

The blood ran down onto Skeletor's skull, and he lightly parted his teeth and let the exquisite crimson liquid drift down into his mouth, suffusing his taste buds. Next to him, Evil-Lyn, her eyes closed, opened her mouth wide and gently lapped up the blood as it trickled into the pool. Skeletor reached his hands to his neck and slowly lifted his hood from his skull, then withdrew his arms from the sleeves of his cape, removing it from his body and thrusting it gently aside. Then he let his long, blue naked arms swish lightly through the pool of blood, as the fall of blood from above trickled onto his skull. Thousands of tiny red strings of blood drifted over the skull, some of them into the depths of his eye sockets while others slid over his teeth and down into his mouth, where he swallowed them, his body writhing in subtle ecstasy as he felt the power coursing through his physique. 

He surrendered his whole torso to the pool of blood, and slowly writhed within it, lying on his side, gazing ahead at Evil-Lyn as he swallowed more and more blood. The beautiful sorceress of the night was doing the same, curling and bending her torso as gallons of blood drifted over her tongue into her mouth. Her eyes, blood blending with her mascara, slowly opened and gazed into the eyes of Skeletor, now blazing red with ecstasy. As she gazed deep into his eyes, Skeletor suddenly felt a rush of libidinal excitement surge through his body. It was not often that Skeletor stopped to feel any kind of affection for others, but at this moment his mind was possessed by a sense of supreme gratitude and valuation for everything Evil-Lyn had done to aid him in the time they had worked together. Thinking of the great bond between them, he stared deep into her stunning, exquisite dark green eyes, seeing somewhere deep within them the amazing peacefulness and compassion which lay deep within her striking, feisty exterior. He beamed a sentiment of immense admiration towards her, and she seemed to sense it as her lips, as crimson as the blood in which she was bathing, slowly formed into a gorgeous, wide smile, ribbons of blood trickling over her dazzling white teeth. 

If Skeletor had had lips, he would have smiled back. His eyes beamed brighter, and he lightly lifted his left arm, and held it high above Evil-Lyn's face. She turned her head slightly to her right, and parted her teeth as Skeletor let a stream of blood drift down his arm, and drip from his elbow into Evil-Lyn's mouth. Then he let his hand drop onto her shoulder, and lightly caressed her arm as they bathed deeper and deeper within the ever-flowing lake of blood around them. The blood continued to fall from above, and they let more and more of the crimson fluid drift into their mouths, a sense of great power and delight flowing throughout their entire bodies as they absorbed the ecstasy… the pleasure… and the _power_… of the Blood of Dronicus. 

* * *

Prince Adam woke up with a tremendous ache pulsing through his head. He opened up his right eye, then immediately shut it tight as a ray of bright sunlight penetrated his cornea, intensifying the ache. His head felt heavy and immobile. The ground below him felt flat and hard. Where the heck was he? Of course, he could easily have opened his eyes to see where he was, but his head was hurting so much that he just couldn't bear to expose his eyes to that light again. All he could tell was that wherever he was, he wanted to be somewhere a million times more comfortable at this precise moment. He ransacked his brain to try to recollect his last conscious memory to determine exactly where he was. At first he couldn't seem to think clearly, his thoughts all seemed to be in a jangle. For a second he thought perhaps he'd been beaten up by Skeletor's crew and they'd put him under some mind spell that stopped him from thinking clearly and maybe he was in their dungeons right now… but then it occurred to him, bright light in or around Snake Mountain? Not a chance. And the pain in his head was in no way the pain of a battle blow. It was a much _worse_ pain that he'd felt a million times before. A hangover pain. 

Where in Grayskull's name could he have been where he could have drunk so much and ended up sleeping somewhere as uncomfortable as this? As the thought of drink filled his mind, a few recollections finally started to creep into his conscious memory. He'd been downing the wine like crazy the night before while surrounded by beautiful women. Of course, he'd been at the party he'd been invited to by Lord Marlach, one of Eternos' respected noblemen, and had ended up getting it on with Lord Marlach's daughter, Lady Malina. Oh yes, and they'd ended up sleeping together… on the floor of the main hall in Marlach's tower, using the tablecloth as a quilt. So that's where he was now. Which meant that unless she'd made an early morning departure (or if it was late afternoon by now, which may be more likely) she'd probably still be with him now….. 

"M-Malina?" he just about managed to mumble, in his hungover state. 

"Adam, you've finally woken up!" came the lively response of Malina's voice. "I've been sitting here for ages… well, ten minutes actually, but it feels like longer! Let's get up and play some games, shall we?" 

"No, not up for that," Adam muttered back, "I was just making sure you were still here." 

"Why don't you just open your eyes, honey?" 

"'Cos that blasted light'll blind me… and speak just a little quieter… my head's hurting…" 

"Oh, your head's hurting, huh?" Malina responded playfully. "I'm not surprised, with the amount of wine you drank last night! Must have been at least ten glasses…" 

"Oh, please, don't remind me… I can only just about remember…" 

Malina laughed aloud. "You were out of your mind last night, Adam! You'll so laugh when I tell you some of the things you said!" 

Adam rolled his eyes beneath his eyelids. What had he gone and said _now_? He was going to have to stop drinking so much on these nights out. "Go on, just tell me, what did I say?" 

"You were going on about how smelly Teela's underwear is when she leaves it out to dry!" 

"Huh? That… doesn't make sense…" 

"Of course it doesn't, but that's why it's so downright funny! You said it smelled as bad as one of Cringer's turds!" 

"Oh, damn… Teela didn't hear, did she? Teela would kill me if she knew I said that…" 

"Don't worry, Teela wasn't here when you said that!" laughed Malina. "She was out in the courtyard, getting it on with Prince Darlus…" 

"Oh yeah of course." Adam replied flatly, wishing Malina hadn't reminded him of that. It had annoyed him quite a lot to see Teela getting off with Prince Darlus of Tralmar, and he couldn't help but feel jealous even though he'd got off with another girl himself. Mainly because he personally didn't like Darlus much, he found him a bit boastful and obnoxious… not to mention unattractive. 

Still laughing, Malina continued, "Oh yes, but that's still not the funniest thing you said last night, Adam. There was this bit when…" she erupted into a huge burst of laughter. 

"Go on, just get on with it…" said Adam. 

"Oh, by the Gods, it was so funny!" laughed Malina. "You got up on the table, right- then you held the cake knife up pretending it was a sword and said 'By the Power of Grayskull, I am He-Man, master of the universe!'" 

"WHAT?!" cried Adam, finally opening his eyes wide as he leaped up in shock. He hoped to the Elders, _Please tell me I haven't…_

Malina laughed even louder as Adam leaped up, "See, I told you it was _that_ funny!" she said, "Then you started going on about how good a scrap Skeletor is and how you once smashed him in with a tree trunk or something…" 

"Oh, blast! Did I say anything else?!" Adam asked, in a panic. 

"No, nothing I can clearly remember, you went on a bit but you stopped making sense eventually… that was just before we got into bed- or rather, under the tablecloth!" 

Adam breathed a sigh of relief, then he asked, "Did you take any of it seriously?" 

Malina threw her head back and emitted her loudest laugh yet. "Are you still drunk or something? Did I take it _seriously_?!" she laughed so loud that Adam felt the pain in his head getting even worse. "Of course not, you were out of your mind! Wow, you are a nutter, Adam. You really crack me up!" 

Adam felt relieved, but still panic-stricken. Malina clearly found this whole situation hilarious, but she didn't realise just how serious it was. Adam knew he was going to have to be _ultra-careful_ about how much he drank from now on. This was the fourth time in the last few weeks that he'd nearly blurted out his secret identity when drunk. He could not risk it again… he could all too easily slip that one step too far, and if he did, he'd be in real trouble. Not only would everyone know, not only would the knowledge probably reach Skeletor, but he'd probably be stripped of all his powers by The Sorceress. He just could not risk that. He knew that Man-At-Arms and The Sorceress would be really pissed at him right now if they knew how many times he'd been coming close to giving away his secret. He couldn't stand to think of just how badly he was risking it… Malina said he'd held up a knife and spoken his oath, what if he'd held up his _sword_?! He'd actually have transformed into He-Man, while drunk, and then he'd have been in _real _trouble! He just could not risk it again. No alcohol at parties from now on. It was just too dangerous. 

"What's up, Adam?" asked Malina, noticing his silence, and his worried expression. "You're not laughing… how can you not find it funny?" 

"I'm alright…" replied Adam, "I'm… I just don't feel too well, that's all, after all the drink. I'm not touching that stuff again, not for a while." 

"Oh, you should do," giggled Malina, "You are just so funny!" 

"I know, I know I am," replied Adam quietly. He stopped to catch his breath. His heart was pounding after the shock of realising what he'd almost done. He looked up, to take a proper glance at Malina and the rest of the room. Malina was sitting cross-legged facing him, still naked, with the tablecloth all wrapped around her. There were empty drink bottles, table napkins, and party poppers scattered all round the hall. 

"Your dad's not gonna be too pleased, when he sees the mess everyone made of his hall," said Adam. 

"Oh, he won't mind," answered Malina, "I told him to expect this." Then she inched herself closer to him. "Come on Adam, give us a smile. Don't look so glum on such a lovely morning… and after such a wonderful night." 

Adam left his concerned thoughts and looked straight ahead at Malina. She was indeed very beautiful. She had gorgeously cute blue eyes, long, fairly curly brown hair, and a sweet, innocent smile. And true enough, she had given him a brilliant night last night. He was glad he'd got to know her. He finally lifted the corners of his mouth, and smiled at her. 

"That's better," she said, stroking his naked shoulder. "I like you, Adam. You're one of the sweetest people I've ever met." She inched her face closer to his, and gave him a huge kiss on the lips. He stroked her under her arm, affectionately. 

"We'd better start cleaning up," he said, getting to his feet from under the tablecloth. "I've probably stained your dad's tablecloth… I'm gonna have to clean it up." 

"Oh, don't worry, Adam!" smiled Malina. "He doesn't mind things like this!" 

"Yeah, but someone's gotta clean up, haven't they?" said Adam, "And since we made most of the mess, we're gonna look pretty bad if we don't clean it up." 

"Oh, go on then, we can clear it up… together!" she said playfully, picking up a table napkin and throwing it softly at Adam. 

"Alright then, let's see you clean _this_ up!" laughed Adam, his spirits lifting, and he picked up a heap of sweet wrappers and threw them over Malina. 

"Oh, you… you watch it!" she giggled, throwing a few of them back at Adam. "I'll get you…" 

"Oh, by the Elders!" came a sudden shout from the other side of the hall, and Adam and Malina spun round to see a rather shocked and embarrassed-looking servant at the end of the hall, taken aback by the unexpected sight of them naked. 

"Oh, no, er, sorry…" said Adam, "We… er… we'll clean up…" 

"It's alright, I didn't realise anyone was still in here," said the servant, "I'll leave you to it!" He went out. 

Malina burst into a huge, playful giggle. "Oh, wow, Adam, that was so funny!" 

Adam looked back at her, and smiled. "I guess it was," he said, "but really, we've gotta get dressed and sort this place out. We can't mess about here all day!" 

"Well, it would be great fun if we did…" sniggered Malina, "but as you say, your Highness, let's clean up!" 

After they had finally dressed and cleared up the hall as best as they could, Adam and Malina ventured out onto the balcony, which looked over onto a marvellous view of the many towers of Eternos City, glistening in the morning sunlight. Lord Marlach was sitting at the table with a small group of guests who had stayed over from the party, mostly other important officials of Eternia. 

"Ah, Malina, glad to see you up so early after the party," said Lord Marlach. "And you too, Prince Adam. I trust you younger folk had a good time after us old-timers retired to bed?" 

"We sure did, father!" giggled Malina. "Adam and I had a particularly good time. Didn't we, Adam?" She looked at Adam, smiling flirtatiously. 

Adam felt his face turn red with embarrassment. "Um, yes," he said, then quickly changed the subject, "We made a bit of a mess of the hall, I'm afraid." Then, just so Marlach didn't misinterpret that comment, he quickly added, "With the food, and the party poppers and all that. We've done our best to clear that up, though." 

"Don't worry about the hall, Your Majesty," said Marlach, "The servants have no qualms about clearing it up, but it's good of you to minimize their work anyway. If you'd like some breakfast, Teela and Prince Darlus are having theirs down below." 

"Oh yes, come on Adam, let's join them," said Malina. "We can fill them in on everything they missed last night!" 

Marlach called to a servant standing close by. "Prepare breakfast for Prince Adam and Malina, would you?" he said. Then he turned to Adam. "It'll be ready before long. They're on the lower balcony on the next floor down." 

"Thank you, my Lord," said Adam. He and Malina left the balcony and went down the stairs to the next floor. As they made their way down, Malina giggled, "I can't wait to tell Teela about the stuff you did last night. She'll be in hysterics!" 

"No Malina, please don't." said Adam, seriously. "I don't want Teela to know about any of it. She'd go mad at me if she knew." 

"What is there to be mad about?" asked Malina, confused, "She'll find it hilarious, just like me." 

"No, she won't." said Adam. "Teela's very sensible with her drinking habits, and she reckons I go completely overboard. Admit it, it's hardly respectable for the heir to the throne to be getting wildly drunk all the time. Teela thinks I'm far more irresponsible than I really am, and if you tell her about the way I was last night, it'll only enhance that view of me." 

"But I've gotta tell her about the He-Man bit, haven't I?" 

"No." Adam said, stopping dead and turning to face Malina. "Look Malina… I don't mean to spoil your fun or anything, but… Teela wouldn't be impressed by that at all." He could not risk letting Teela hear about that. Even if it didn't make her suspect his secret identity, she wouldn't be pleased at the thought of Adam poking fun at He-Man; she'd attribute it to jealousy and spite. 

"Oh, come on Adam, stop being so paranoid," said Malina, laying her hand on his shoulder, "She wouldn't treat it so seriously, you should relax and stop taking everything so seriously yourself. Lighten up, don't be so stressed about everything." 

"I don't mean to seem too stressed, just trust me, I know she wouldn't be pleased," said Adam. "I've known Teela all my life, I know what kind of reactions she has. Please Malina. Don't tell her. I'm being serious here." 

Malina was silent for a few seconds. "Well, as you wish. I won't tell her. But anyway, let's get over and have breakfast with them, there's still loads of gossip I've gotta tell them!" 

They went through to the balcony, where Teela and Prince Darlus sat having breakfast at the table, engaged in conversation. 

"Good morning Teela," said Adam, as he and Malina sat down to join them. 

"Oh, hello Adam," said Teela. "I'm surprised you're up this early. Did you two enjoy yourselves last night?" 

"You bet we did!" laughed Malina. Adam stared closely at Teela's eyes hoping to detect a hint of jealousy towards Malina. He was hoping Teela would throw her a spiteful glance or something, but she didn't even turn to look at her. She was too busy gazing straight ahead of her at Darlus, who was gazing right back at her. He hadn't even acknowledged Adam or Malina yet. 

There was a few seconds silence, then Adam broke it by saying "And you two? You had a good night too, I guess?" 

"Yes, we certainly did," said Teela, "We had a good debate about the trade system between Darlus' kingdom and the province of Bracilia." 

Malina backed away from Teela slightly, looked at Adam, then threw a weird glance back at Teela and said, half-audibly, "Er… okay." Then she looked back at Adam and mouthed "Real party talk, huh?" 

"We definitely had an outstanding debate," said Darlus, finally turning to look at Adam. "As you may possibly know, if your knowledge of Eternia is as wide as I would expect from a Prince of your status, my kingdom has been producing pure, salt-free water of the finest quality for the past few decades. We have made a tremendous amount of money from the export of this water, particularly in the region of Dalshia and the island of Anwat Gar, where demand is consistently high, and have more recently established a successful trade system with the province of Bracilia, where our water has been traded for extra-strong wood from the pinewood trees that grow in the area. It is my opinion that if our water continues to increase the average life expectancy in Bracilia, their work rate will increase and thus boost their annual income, thus reducing their need to trade with us and instead exchange a tremendous supply of gold for our most wonderful water, thus increasing our own income which we will be able to invest in…" 

Adam looked away from Darlus and threw a glance at Malina, whose eyes were wide open with astonishment. She threw a strange glance at Darlus, who continued to babble on without even pausing for breath. Adam was not even trying to listen to a word Darlus was saying, he just kept nodding his head in mock interest, while wondering what on Eternia Teela saw in this arrogant egotist. He was not even particularly good-looking; his eyes were small and smug, his black hair oiled down far too heavily, while his nose was enormous and cast a pointed shadow over his seemingly unshuttable mouth. Adam threw a quick glance at Teela, and saw that she had her eyes firmly fixed on Darlus as if he was the most exquisite sight in the world, and her lips were curved upwards with admiration. Was she really impressed by this jerk? He was blatantly boasting about his kingdom's prosperity as if it was all his own accomplishment, and his tones were mocking, ringing with convictions of superiority. _This guy could do with a visit to Equamore,_ thought Adam. 

Finally Adam was given an excuse to interrupt Darlus when a servant came onto the balcony and laid breakfast on the table for Adam and Malina. "Thank you," said Adam, interrupting Darlus' endless flow of babble. Before Darlus could continue, Adam looked down at the food, and remarked, "Bread and wheat crisp, looks fantastic. It would seem the cooks here have splendid talent." He knew the remark wasn't particularly interesting, but he had to bring up some other topic in the hope that Darlus wouldn't continue. 

He looked up at Malina, and she responded with "Oh yes, my father employs some of the best cooks in Eternos." Then she rapidly changed the subject back to the party. "Anyway, Adam and I had a good laugh last night. Adam's great fun, isn't he?" She looked at Teela. 

"Yes, he can be," said Teela. Before Adam could get his hopes up for a proper compliment, she said, "But anyway, Darlus, what was that you were saying about…" 

Adam had to interrupt before Teela could set Darlus off again. "Ow!" he cried, and clamped his hand over his right eye. 

"Adam, are you alright?" said Malina, looking worried. 

"Yeah, I'm okay," said Adam, "I'm just kind of wishing I'd eaten indoors, the sunlight's making my headache worse…" 

"Not hung over again, are you?" said Teela. 

"No… er, well, yes," said Adam. "But I didn't have all that much to drink, I…" 

Malina erupted into an exuberant giggle. 

"You got drunk and made a fool of yourself again, didn't you?" said Teela. "Really, Adam. I'd have thought you'd have more sense after your last few outbursts." 

"Oh… but Teela, I…" 

Darlus shook his head. "Such vices I would sooner expect from the peasant classes." 

"Give him a break, you two!" shouted Malina. "What's wrong with a little alcoholic binge every now and then? He knows not to do it too often. And anyway, he's really funny when he's drunk. You should see him." 

"I have seen him drunk, many times," said Teela. "And he's only funny at his own expense. Not respectable behavior from a Prince…" 

"Stop being so boring!" said Malina. "It's not like he's some alcoholic lout or something. And besides, Lord Sharmos was talking to us at one point last night, and he thought Adam was funny, he said he was a good lad. He knows his responsibilities, you shouldn't look at everything so seriously." 

Adam smiled at Malina. Her playful nature and boisterousness could be a little irritating at times, but she was clearly a sensible girl at heart and it was nice to have someone defend him for a change. Even though he knew he had gone rather overboard with the drink. 

"Well Lord Sharmos is one of the densest excuses for a Lord throughout Eternia," said Darlus pompously, "He'll give the greatest valuables to the most useless peasant on the planet just for the sake of helping the poor. He has no logic of worthiness. I'd have thought a lovely young lady like you would know better than to trust him." Adam noticed Malina thrust backwards in her chair all of a sudden with a look of disgust, and peering slightly under the table below him he saw that Darlus had reached his hand under the table in an attempt to stroke her knee. _What a creep,_ Adam thought, eyeing Darlus with resentment. 

Finally plucking up the courage to oppose Darlus, Adam said, "Excuse me, but I know Lord Sharmos quite well, and he is worthy of the highest respect. My father would agree with me there. He uses all his energy to help the poor, because he understands them. He may have given money to drug addicts and criminals in the past, but that's because he's capable of looking beyond their vices and realising they're driven that way by poverty and oppression, not by natural psychological evil. He's helped them to become better people." 

"Oh, come on Your Highness, a criminal is a criminal, you of all people should know that. But then, I guess I shouldn't expect too much from one who overdoses on alcohol so often…" 

"That's enough!" interrupted Malina, angrily. "Don't you dare insult Adam like that. How can any Eternian be so arrogant and shallow in this day and age? Judging by what you've been saying this morning, you'd be better off among Skeletor's crew. And what was that you said before about 'the peasant classes'? There's been no class system on Eternia since King Tamask's government, just a few hundred years after the Snake Army. He saw that class was just a creation of hierarchical regime, so he abolished it. How can you refer to class this many centuries on?" 

"Ah, my darling, you should know better again. Us members of the ruling classes need to distinguish between the biology, and the psyche, of the rich and the poor. A class system is the only way we can do that. It was one of the only things the Snake Army got right…" 

Adam shot to his feet. He'd had enough. He wasn't sticking around to listen to the totalitarian ramblings of this creep. Withholding his fury, he said, in tones as polite as he could manage, "Please excuse me, I've got to be going." 

"But Adam, you've hardly touched your breakfast!" said Teela, looking at Adam's plate, which was almost full. 

"I know, but my appetite's not too big this morning." Then he looked directly at Teela. "Teela… if I can just have a quick word, please?" 

"Sure," said Teela, and got to her feet. 

"Do you want me to come?" asked Malina. 

"No, you just finish your breakfast for now," said Adam, "I won't be long." 

Adam led Teela away from the balcony and into the corridor. Halfway down the corridor, he stopped and said to Teela, "Okay then, what in Grayskull's name do you see in that dufus?" 

"Are you referring to Darlus, per chance?" asked Teela, folding her arms. 

"You bet I am. Aren't you listening to him? All he's doing is preaching loads of totalitarian ideology that totally conflicts with the policies of Eternia. My father would be appalled to hear the stuff he's saying. It's the complete opposite of Eternia's system of equality. How can you respect such a jerk?" 

"Adam, come on," said Teela, "you've got to admit, you _have_ been going over the top with the alcohol for some time." 

"I'm not talking about the drink!" said Adam, "Okay, I admit, I have been going a bit too far, but I'm gonna be careful from now on, no more alcohol on nights out. But that's not the concern… the concern is, how can you take all that fascist nonsense seriously?" 

"Adam…" began Teela, "Darlus is a very intelligent man. We had a wonderful conversation last night, while you were fooling around with all the drink… and all the women. Okay, I agree, his beliefs are a bit totalitarian at times, but you shouldn't hold that against him. He's very good-hearted and does a lot for his kingdom. He puts a lot more work into state affairs than you do…" 

"But how can you say he's doing any good, when he's so discriminative against the poor? And saying the Snake Army were right, come on!" 

"Listen…" said Teela, "You said something before about looking beyond people's faults to see their true nature. And that's the approach I've been taking with Darlus. Darlus is quite insecure at heart. He was abused as a child, pretty badly, and it's scarred him for life. That's one of the reasons why he tends to speak down to people, to keep his status intact, and to stop himself looking vulnerable. If you'd learned anything from our visit to Equamore a few weeks back, you'd be able to look past his apparent 'arrogance' to see his true self. Which is wonderful, I might add." 

Adam's thoughts were tossed into a jumble. He was quite taken aback by what Teela had just said. He was unsure whether or not to feel guilty about his attitude towards Darlus, now he knew the real reason for Darlus' arrogance… and he was also confused by her reference to Equamore. He had just been about to bring up Equamore himself… a few weeks earlier he and Teela had visited the isolated and peaceful kingdom, where stress and conflict were virtually non-existent and the people possessed no desires of greed or corruption, believing in peace and equality between all living beings. Since then they had both tried to remember the ways of the Equamorians as often as possible, and Teela's approach to Adam had generally softened, while she had ranted at him less often. So Adam was perplexed that Teela could even think of getting involved with a man as seemingly arrogant and status-obsessed as Darlus, whose beliefs were the total opposite of those of the Equamorians. 

"I was just gonna mention Equamore myself…" said Adam, "I don't get why you'd sleep with a man as corrupt as Darlus, when his beliefs totally contrast with the Equamorians! He's no different from the way those people were when they got possessed by the jewel of corruption!" 

"Excuse me Adam, but he is nothing like those possessed people. Darlus is intelligent- and kind. Like I said, give him a chance like the Equamorians would. If you got to know him properly you'd find he's a wonderful man." 

"You don't get it, that guy wouldn't stand a chance in Equamore! I'm not saying he's evil or anything, I'm just saying there's no excuse for being so arrogant, no matter how troubled he is at heart. The Equamorians might be able to look beyond his arrogance, but they'd never let him keep that attitude. You should do what the Equamorians would, and talk to him about his faults so he can shed all his corruption!" 

"Alright-" said Teela, "if you really want people to overcome their faults, then why on Eternia don't you give Lady Malina a good talking to!" 

"What do you mean?" 

"You complain about me and Darlus, well I don't get what the heck you see in that loudmouth Malina. She's just some immature little troublemaker who goes round spreading stupid rumors and gossip about other people. She's nothing more than a spoilt little slut, who doesn't know how to mind her own business. She'll do no good for you!" 

"Oh, come on Teela, she's not half as bad as she might seem… she's very exuberant, sure, but she's also intelligent… and she knows not to go too far. She just loves having a good time and sometimes gets a bit over-excited." 

"See? You think she's that wonderful, now you see how I feel about Darlus. Before you go complaining about other people's faults, go and sort out hers- and your own." 

She turned and walked back off towards the balcony. Adam was left dumbstruck. Teela sure seemed to have won that argument, and Adam was totally confused as to which of them was in the right. However over the top Malina's behavior could be, surely she wasn't half as bad as Darlus and his arrogance? And Adam simply could not comprehend how someone like Teela, whom he'd always known to be extremely just and fair, could see any redeeming qualities in someone as despicable as Darlus. But obviously she saw something, and whatever good qualities she saw far exceeded his bad side for her… so maybe it was all Adam's problem. Maybe he wasn't trying hard enough to look past people's bad sides… or maybe he was just overly jealous about Teela being onto something with another man. And he was, admittedly, _extremely_ jealous that she could be with someone as arrogant as Darlus rather than him. Whatever the case was, Adam couldn't be bothered thinking about it now. He had enough weights on his mind as it was, with the forced concealment of his secret identity from Teela, and the constant battles against Skeletor. He had to do his best to follow the Equamorians' ways and try not to let feelings of stress get him down… but it sure was hard. He felt as though he was battling stress almost as much as he was battling Skeletor, if not more. 

He followed Teela back to the balcony, and as he approached it he heard the sound of raised voices, locked in some kind of argument. What was going on now? He passed through the doorway onto the balcony, and saw Malina and Darlus, both standing, engaged in a blazing row. 

"That's complete nonsense!" Malina was shouting, "Forcing the peasants to pay tax would be to murder them! You need to update yourself to this century…" 

"I'm afraid it's you who should do that, my dear, there's some policies in the Eternia of today that have been used too long- it's time for change…" 

"They've been used so long because they're totally just, you ignorant bastard!" 

"Oh, reverting to name-calling now are we? Maybe you need to learn some manners, little girl…" 

"Calm down, you two!" shouted Teela. "We're all capable of sorting problems out without getting at each other's throats, aren't we?" 

"Oh, I do apologise, Teela my love," said Darlus, "I tried to calm her down but she just didn't have the maturity…" 

"That's it, you are really asking for me to slit your worthless throat now…" interrupted Malina, an intense scowl on her face as her glance shot down for a second towards the knife on her breakfast plate. 

"Cool it!" shouted Teela, bringing her hand down firmly on Malina's shoulder. "Let's not make threats at one another, we're supposed to be above that." 

"_He_ doesn't even know how to have a proper debate, I've been trying to reason with him but he just blurts out a load of hierarchic nonsense…" 

"Oh, yes?" sneered Darlus, "And who was it who made the very ladylike move of calling me names and threatening me?" 

"That's enough, both of you!" snapped Teela. "There's no need to waste time shouting at each other at times like this. And it had been such a lovely morning until now, as well." She turned towards Darlus, and laid her hand gently on his shoulder. "Come on Darlus, I think we'd be better off finding somewhere to ourselves." They began to walk off, leaving Adam and Malina alone. 

After a few seconds silence, Adam said, "Well, that's a lovely start to the morning, isn't it?" His tones rang with sarcasm. 

"I hope you're not blaming me," said Malina, "I was trying to have an intelligent discussion and he just talks down to me as if I'm some difficult child!" 

"Don't worry, I'm not blaming you," said Adam, "I can easily imagine what he was like. I just really don't have time for stuff like this." He touched his hand to his eye again. "Ow, and all that's made my headache worse too." 

"I don't have time for this shit either," said Malina, "especially not after a great night like last night. People like him make me sick. I don't get why-" 

They were suddenly interrupted by a shout from the corridor. "Adam!" came the sound of Teela's voice, and Teela ran out from the corridor back onto the balcony. A few seconds later, Darlus followed behind her, his movements slow, his face suddenly pale and distressed. 

"What now, Teela?" asked Adam, expecting another rant. "Can this wait 'til later, I really don't have time now…" 

"No Adam, this is serious." 

"If it's about the argument, can't we just forget it…" 

"It's nothing to do with the argument!" said Teela sternly. "You've got to understand- we've just received some very disturbing news from the island of Tralmar." 

"Darlus' home?" said Adam. 

"Exactly," said Teela. "Last night, Darlus' father, King Aldreck, was murdered brutally by three assailants in his throne room." 

"By the Elders!" cried Adam, his heart suddenly pounding in shock, his mind abruptly racked with guilt over his rant about Darlus. "Did anyone see who the killers were?" 

"The description given was of a hooded man, a tall attractive woman and a hairy creature." 

"No prizes for guessing who they were. Sounds like the work of Skeletor again…" 

"Precisely, but that's not the most distressing thing. The killers scrawled a message on the floor in blood- and by the look of it, it wasn't Aldreck's blood- it was some abnormal kind of blood that wouldn't dry, and couldn't be washed away." 

"By Eternia…" said Adam, his eyes opening wide, "and what did the message say?" 

"The message called for Prince Darlus to challenge his father's killers." 

"Then we've gotta summon He-Man and get him over to Snake Mountain now…" 

"No, Adam… the message said more than just that. It asked for him to challenge them in their new base… in Castle Dronicus." 

* * *

Adam and Malina loaded the weaponry onto the Wind Raider as Man-At-Arms and Teela prepared it for the journey to Tralmar. 

"Everything's set and ready," said Man-At-Arms, "You can get going to Tralmar as soon as He-Man arrives." 

"Do you know how long it'll be until he's here?" asked Teela. 

"I'm pretty sure he'll arrive before too long," replied Man-At-Arms, throwing a quick glance at Adam. "I would join you myself, but I've got to give an important talk at the Science Institute." 

"Nothing will stop me from avenging my father's death," said Darlus determinedly, approaching them, "I will make Skeletor pay!" 

"Just remember to be careful, Darlus," said Adam, "we don't know exactly what tricks Skeletor might have up his sleeve. If he really has acquired the blood of Dronicus, he could be more dangerous than ever before." 

"Who is Dronicus by the way?" asked Malina, "I remember the name, I just can't recall anything else about him." 

"Dronicus was an evil tyrant who ruled Tralmar many centuries ago- and he ruled _for_ centuries as well," replied Adam. "He started off as the Prince of the island, when he saved the King's daughter from a band of Reptile Men and was allowed to marry her as a reward. At first he was considered a hero, as he was a powerful warrior and magician whose role was to defend the island against invaders. But after he won a war against an army of Orcs from the Black Continent, he became tempted by corruption. He demanded that he should become ruler of Tralmar because of his strength, but when the King refused to hand over his crown, Dronicus challenged him to a fight… which Dronicus won. The King was lying dead on the floor in a pool of blood within moments… and when the frightened Princess tried desperately to soothe Dronicus, he killed her as well. Dronicus then used his magic to build his own castle, from which he ruled for thousands of years…" 

"Until he was finally defeated by one of my ancestors," interrupted Darlus, "who became the new King and brought my family into rule." 

"Then what's the deal about this blood?" asked Malina. "And how did he manage to live for so long?" 

"The two are closely connected," said Adam, "Dronicus was literally bloodthirsty- throughout his reign of terror, he would drink the blood of all his victims. And since he put thousands of his people to death, his victims were many. He would spend hours bathing in the blood and feasting on it… particularly favoring the blood of young men and women, whom he considered strongest. And as his magic power increased, his blood became imbued with incredible power that made him almost invincible. It gave him superhuman strength and kept him young, and it was even said to have abilities of its own. As he drank more and more of his victims' blood, his strength increased, and he remained young for the rest of his many thousands of years, until he was slain by Darlus' ancestor." 

"Decapitated…" added Darlus, "over the altar in his castle." 

"And after his death, his blood seeped out all over the ground from the many wounds in his body… but it would not dry, and could not be cleaned up. His body was burned in the hope it would all be destroyed- but although his body crumbled to ash, his blood still remained intact. The nobles of the island knew that the blood could still be dangerous if any evil force got their hands on it… and it could have been dangerous anyway, since Dronicus' magic was still within it. So the nobles worked on draining all the blood from his body, and when all the blood had been removed they placed it in a fountain above the altar, where it would run for eternity. Then they sealed the door of the chamber so no-one could get their hands on it… then they sealed the castle's main gate, and no-one has entered since… until now, it seems." 

"Wow, then Skeletor's gotta be stopped right away," said Malina. "Any chance I could come along, give you guys a hand, maybe?" 

Teela cast a strange look at Malina, looking a mixture of appalled and perplexed. "You?!" she said. "Er… no offence, Malina, but this is a job for warriors." 

"Are you saying I'm no warrior?" said Malina. "Well I've got news for you, I spend a lot of my spare time learning judo in the gym. Okay, I've never fought before, but I'm definitely not afraid to give Skeletor a good kicking. What can you say to that?" 

"Just because you've trained doesn't make you a warrior," she replied. Then she added, in mocking tones, "Just for your safety, you'd better stay here with Adam and have some fun together." 

"Well I'd see no problem with her going along," said Adam. He was quite surprised himself at Malina's eagerness, but he knew she'd probably be safe as long as he was there to protect her, as He-Man. "You could do with all the help you can get, why not give her a chance?" 

Teela shifted her glance towards Adam, and said, "I'm afraid I can't take that suggestion seriously, coming from a drunkard." 

Adam shrugged his shoulders resignedly. He wasn't even going to bother risking another argument. "Ah, well, have it your way," he said, "I'd better be going anyway." 

"Yeah, I'll come with you, Adam," said Malina, "Where d'you wanna go?" 

"Ahem," coughed Man-At-Arms, looking at Malina, "It's probably best you don't stay with the Prince this afternoon, he has… important business. I need to have a talk with Adam myself before I go to the Science Institute. Teela, good luck with your task. He-Man should be along shortly." He walked over towards Adam, and put his hand on his shoulder. The two of them started to walk away, Adam turning round briefly to say goodbye to Malina. 

When they were a firm distance away, Man-At-Arms stopped and said to Adam, "I won't keep you long, I know you've got to go along with them. I'm just a bit concerned about what Teela said about your… drinking?" 

Adam hung his head slightly, a trifle embarrassed. "Yeah, well… let's just say I've been going a bit overboard at parties lately. But I can keep control of myself, I know…" 

"Look, son, I know you don't mean to go so far, but you've got to remember your responsibilities… as the Prince, as well as He-Man. If it was just once, I wouldn't be as worried, but I remember you drinking a lot the other week, at the Eternia Day celebrations. There's nothing wrong with having some fun, but you can have fun without alcohol. What if Skeletor were to attack whilst you were partying?" 

"I know, Duncan…" said Adam, "…I'm really sorry. I'm just as angry with myself as you and Teela are, I really should know better… and now Teela views me as some kind of wine-swilling lout. You promise you won't tell my father, will you? He'd go ballistic at me…" 

"Don't worry, I'll spare Randor the details for now," said Man-At-Arms, "but just be careful from now on. And don't worry about Teela… I'm sure she knows you're not _that_ bad, she just gets a little frustrated. But I'll leave you now, I'll let you get down to business." 

"Thanks, Duncan," said Adam, and Man-At-Arms walked off. Adam sighed to himself, feeling a mixture of guilt, embarrassment and frustration with himself. He felt partly guilty about not telling Man-At-Arms how many times he'd come close to blowing his secret when drunk… he wasn't sure if telling him would be a good idea or not. But he reminded himself, _be like the Equamorians, don't let it bother you_. Although he found it incredibly hard not to let it bother him. He was so bad that Teela could respect a swine like Darlus more than him? He dismissed that unpleasant thought immediately, he'd had enough worry for one day- and it was still only early afternoon. He found a side alley between the buildings, made sure no-one was approaching, then he pulled out his sword and held it aloft. With the way he was feeling, he was partly tempted to use the sword to slash his wrists. But reminding himself of his role in Eternia, and how much he meant to Teela in his _other_ form, he spoke his oath: 

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL…  
I HAVE THE POWER!" 

For several seconds the alley was illuminated with immense light which emanated from the sword, and crackled down over his body, transforming him in a flash into the most powerful man in the universe… He-Man. 

Hastily, he made his way out from the alley towards where the Wind Raider was parked, heading right to the aid of Teela, Tralmar… and all Eternia. 

* * *

"Come on, He-Man, when you gonna get here…" Teela whispered to herself impatiently as she sat at the controls of the Wind Raider, leaning against the side in boredom. 

"Do we necessarily need He-Man?" said Darlus cockily, "I could probably take care of that bastard Skeletor myself. My anger at my father's death gives me enough power to take him on." 

"Calm down, Darlus…" said Teela, "Most people say I'm probably the strongest woman in Eternos, and even I wouldn't take on Skeletor without He-Man, especially when he's got the blood of Dronicus. Well, I would, if I was the only hope… but I wouldn't stand much chance of winning." She turned her head to look at Darlus, then thought of how severe the tragedy was for him today, and gently stroked his arm. She knew she'd have to try her best not to let her hot-headedness get in her way today. Darlus must be experiencing great pain at the loss of his father, and she couldn't let him think she didn't care. Okay, so he was a little arrogant some of the time… but he had charmed her greatly when he had approached her the night before, and she had been delighted to meet a Prince who was so dedicated to the welfare of his kingdom. **His father may be gone, she thought, but Darlus will make a wonderful king in his place**. 

"You underestimate yourself my darling. I haven't seen you fight yet, but I've heard many tales… and I know a strong woman when I see one. Which isn't often." 

She knew there were many other strong women in Eternia, but she smiled at the compliment. He had been paying her compliments non-stop since last night, and it had been quite a relief for her after all the training and fighting she had to do day by day. 

"I really admire how well you're coping with this tragedy, Darlus…" she said, "I know how hard it must be to-" 

"I'm coming!" an exuberant shout suddenly interrupted her, and she spun round to see the irritating sight of Lady Malina, skipping towards them like a mischievous child. 

Lady Malina hopped right into the back seat of the Wind Raider, and said, "I just asked my father, and he said I can go along with you. _He_ knows me well enough to know I won't get hurt." 

"Are you sure?" said Teela sternly. It wouldn't surprise her if this spoilt little bitch would make up such a story. "I think I'd have to talk to him before I can believe you." 

"I am happy for Malina to go along," Lord Marlach said, suddenly approaching from the door of his tower. "She does spend a lot of time training, and I know that you and He-Man can protect her if she does run into any trouble." 

Malina threw a smug look at Teela. Teela had to fight hard to resist the urge to punch her. She looked up at Lord Marlach, and was tempted to question him, but she'd always found him to be very respectable and definitely not the type to make rash decisions. So she just said, "Okay then my Lord. She can come along, I'll keep watch over her." 

"Thank you," said Marlach, then he kissed his daughter, wished her luck and then returned to the tower. Teela sighed to herself. Now she was going to have to put up with this interfering loudmouth all day. She'd already started one argument with Darlus this morning, what else was she going to get up to? And why did she want to come along anyway? Just to cause trouble? Even if she was a decent fighter, Teela didn't see any need for her to come to Tralmar with them. Just He-Man and herself should be enough to deal with Skeletor… at least she hoped. 

The three people in the Wind Raider sat for a few moments in awkward silence. Teela would have talked to Darlus, but she felt uneasy with Malina right behind her, whose presence prevented her from saying anything personal. But thankfully the silence didn't last too long- it was broken by the sound of a comfortingly familiar voice saying, "Ready to go, Teela?" 

Teela looked around, and saw the muscular and friendly figure of He-Man standing beside the Wind Raider. Just the mere sight of him put a smile on her face. He appeared so tall, powerful and dignified that he seemed just… out of this world. His presence lifted her spirits immediately and all her tension vanished. 

"Yes, I am," she said, smiling. "And… great to see you here." 

"No problem," replied He-Man, climbing into the back seat beside Malina. "Sorry I'm a bit late, I got slightly held up." 

"Not to worry," she smiled, "Let's get going!" She flicked the controls on the Wind Raider, and the vehicle quickly blasted off into the air. 

As they cruised across the blue skies above the Fertile Plains, He-Man touched Darlus on the shoulder and said, "I guess I'd better introduce myself. I'm He-Man." He held out his hand in a handshake gesture. 

"Yes, I think I guessed that," said Darlus, "not often you see someone with your muscle structure." He turned his head back round, not bothering to shake He-Man's hand. He-Man lowered his hand, looking slightly embarrassed. 

"You're… Prince Darlus, I guess?" He-Man asked, in polite tones but sounding slightly nervous. 

"I am indeed he," Darlus replied, not looking round. 

"I'm… really sorry to hear about your father," said He-Man. 

"No need to be, you'll find I'm coping rather well," replied Darlus, "and I'll have his death avenged soon, anyway." 

"Okay, well… pleasure to meet you anyway." 

"I know it is," replied Darlus, still not looking round. Teela looked at Darlus curiously. Darlus was being rather disturbingly obnoxious towards He-Man. He-Man was being his usual friendly, charming self… but Darlus' attitude in response was extremely unpleasant. Not an appropriate way at all to greet someone as just and good-hearted as He-Man. She found it rather unsettling to see Darlus speaking down to He-Man like this, and her mind harked back to what Prince Adam had said about Darlus before. Perhaps Adam had had a point after all. Having not spent a moment without Darlus since they'd met the night before, Teela had gathered that he could seem rather pompous at times, but she had attributed that to his insecurity, which he had confessed to her in a moment of intimacy. Adam's rant about him had seemed to her to be simply spurred by jealousy. But there was certainly no excuse for him to be speaking to He-Man like this. Maybe she had been a bit too harsh with Adam. She hadn't found his behavior too respectable the night before, with all the drinking and flirting, not to mention ending up sleeping with a slut like Malina. But maybe his view of Darlus was not completely unjustified… she started to feel slightly guilty about having had a go at him. She had to remember to be calmer in future and talk to him properly when they had a dispute… she really didn't want him to feel she hated him. She'd be sure to apologise to him whenever she got back to the palace. And if Darlus kept up this attitude, she'd have a word with him when they were next alone together. Darlus' significance to her seemed to have suddenly dropped since the appearance of He-Man. Darlus may be a wonderful person… but he was no He-Man. No way. She wondered if maybe Darlus had been rude to He-Man because he somehow sensed her affection for him. In truth, she did much prefer He-Man to Darlus… but with good cause. 

He-Man sat silently in the back of the Wind Raider, gazing over the side at the landscape below, as they passed over thick, green forests. He was somewhat taken aback, and rather frustrated, by Darlus' attitude towards him. He had hoped that Darlus would be more pleasant towards him in the form of He-Man, and that he might be able to see his good side and understand exactly what Teela saw in him. But Darlus had been anything but pleasant. If anything he had only been even more despicably rude. Surely this couldn't be right? How on Eternia could Teela feel any respect for someone this obnoxious? It sickened him to think that Teela could respect someone like this more than himself. It was bad enough to think that Teela could respect Darlus more than Adam… and if it turned out she respected Darlus more than _He-Man_, that would be even more disturbing. He knew he'd have to talk to Teela about her relationship with Darlus later. Maybe in the form of He-Man, she'd take him more seriously. 

Suddenly it struck him that he hadn't introduced himself to Malina yet. It sounded ridiculous, the thought of 'introducing himself' to her, when he'd spent the last night with her, but then, the rules of Grayskull insisted he should present himself to others as two different people, so he had no choice but to abide by them. He turned to Malina, and held out his hand to shake hers. 

"Hi Malina, sorry about…" 

She shook his hand and smiled at him. "Hi, great to meet you, He-Man." 

"Um, yeah, I'm, er, sorry I didn't speak to you before… I was lost in thought, there's a lot on my mind right now." 

"That's alright," she said, "How did you know who I am?" 

"You're famous enough round Eternia," he said. 

She smiled and blushed slightly, seeming flattered. "Thank you," she said. He-Man was immediately struck with guilt about having flattered her by saying something that wasn't exactly true. Okay, she _was_ reasonably well-known around these parts of Eternia, but that wasn't how he knew her, he knew her because he slept with her last night in the form of Adam… _why_ did Grayskull have to impose so much stress on him by making him tell lies all the time? 

There was about half a moment of awkward silence between them, then she looked at him and quietly whispered, "Don't you worry about… _him_…" she shifted her eyes for a split second in Darlus' direction, "the guy's a megalomaniac. He's like that to everyone. Don't worry." 

He-Man smiled subtly in acknowledgement, relieved that Darlus' arrogance was not simply in his own eyes. The man sure was arrogant… so _why_ did Teela like him? He found Malina's presence pretty comforting and reassuring. He was glad she was coming with them on this trip. Which brought him to ask, "So, you're coming along to give us some extra help, I guess?" 

"Yeah, I thought you could do with a hand," Malina replied, "I've done quite a bit of warrior training, so it'll be a good chance to put what I've learned into practice." 

"Your help will be much appreciated," said He-Man. "Anyway, how have you been lately?" 

"I've been doing good," she replied, "had a great party last night…" 

He-Man spent the rest of the journey talking casually with Malina, taking care not to make any slips that might give away his secret. She seemed to have a different approach to him as He-Man than she did when he was Adam… she came across as less giggly and playful, more serious and responsible… it was strange how his change of form seemed to bring out an altogether different side to her. But it also made him respect her more… she seemed quite an intelligent and headstrong girl, she was just more relaxed than Teela usually was. Which made her quite a relief for him to talk to, given how stressful his days usually were. He stayed calm and relaxed through the rest of the journey, knowing that a bit of breathing space was what he needed most right now… especially considering what he may have to face upon arrival at Tralmar. 

* * *

A huge, thick black cloud hung over Tralmar as the Wind Raider landed in a forest clearing on the small island. He-Man, Teela, Malina and Darlus were instantly overcome with a sinister feeling of bleakness. It was as if some evil magic was working its way over the whole island. 

A faint rumble of thunder sounded overhead. "Looks like rain…" Teela said, a tiny drop of rain falling from the sky onto her hand. 

"It looks like we could be facing much more than simple rain today…" said He-Man grimly, "I don't like this. Quickly, let's move on towards the palace." 

They headed through the forest path towards the towers of the Palace of Tralmar. It was pretty small for a palace, simply composed of three thin towers tightly huddled together, built from rather inelegant, light gray limestone. The guards seemed extremely bleak as they moved aside to allow He-Man and the others inside, remaining silent without saying a word. _Maybe it shouldn't be so surprising_, He-Man thought, _they're probably feeling bleak after the death of their King_. 

Darlus took the lead after they stepped inside. "Follow me," he said, and He-Man, Teela and Malina followed him through to the throne room. 

In the throne room, the atmosphere was as bleak as it was outside. The room was completely silent, even though it was filled with people- a crowd of distressed-looking citizens of the island, all huddled together dressed in light gray rags, looking very like the three towers which composed the building's exterior. He-Man was used to being treated like a celebrity in most places he visited, with a rapturous reception, but here was the total opposite. The people merely turned and eyed him curiously, their faces expressionless. 

The Chancellor stepped out from the crowd towards the quartet, and bent down on one knee in front of Darlus. "Welcome back… our new King," he said. 

"Thank you," said Darlus, "It is an honor for me to finally become King of this island. But it is tragic that I had to be crowned under these circumstances." 

"The body of King Aldreck is concealed in the chamber," said a nervous-looking maidservant, "we had to hide him… we were afraid that someone may come and drink his blood…" 

"The murderers scrawled the message for you over there…" the Chancellor continued, rising upward and pointing his finger towards the corner of the room, near the empty throne. "They used the blood of Dronicus… we could not clean it up, it would not dry. So we poured it into a large jug… it is being concealed with your father's body." 

"I am aware of the message, and the challenge it proposed for me," said Darlus, "and I will have the murderers slain by the end of the day… I promise you." 

"But you can't go in there… not alone…" said a frightened-looking old woman. 

"Shut up!" Darlus shouted, spinning around and slapping the frail woman in the face. She keeled back, hand to her face in pain. 

"Darlus!" exclaimed He-Man, shocked, and went over to the woman, placing his hand on her shoulder, half-shielding her from Darlus with his muscular body. 

Darlus simply glared at the woman, and angrily said, "What do you think I brought He-Man here for? He's here in case I need any help slaying the killers. Not that I will need him, for once I have raised my blade towards them, they stand no chance." 

"We all knew this day would come eventually…" said a small, old man nearby, "as long as that castle there still stands… this island is under threat…" 

"It poses no threat!" snapped Darlus, "fools like you may have lived in fear of Castle Dronicus for years, but it's been nothing but a decrepit, useless old ruin these past few centuries. And the villain here is not Dronicus, but some skull-faced cretin who's been beaten plenty of times before." 

"But he now has the power of Dronicus…" came another voice from somewhere in the crowd. 

"What does that matter?!" said Darlus angrily, "Am I really going to have to rule over idiots like you lot? My ancestor defeated Dronicus himself… I have the blood of my ancestor in my veins, so I will defeat the killer with ease. Even if the killer was Dronicus himself, I would defeat him within seconds!" He pulled out his sword from a sheath on his back, and swished it through the air as if to strike at an imaginary foe. Then he turned to He-Man, Teela and Malina. "Let us move," he said, "I will get the fight over with immediately." 

Before He-Man could stop Darlus to calm him down, Darlus began to march off briskly towards the exit. He-Man, Teela and Malina hurried after him, and followed him out from the castle, towards the dense, almost jungular area that surrounded the great hill of the island… atop which the spire of Castle Dronicus could already be seen against the deep gray sky. Black clouds swirled above, and the rumble of thunder sounded every few moments, seeming louder each time. 

Darlus was moving steadily through the thick jungle, leading the quartet, cutting the plants aside with his blade. Not once did he look back at his comrades. He-Man moved swiftly behind him. 

"Darlus, I have to warn you…" he said, "you mustn't let yourself get too confident. Skeletor is a very powerful foe… although I may have beaten him many times, each time it becomes more difficult. He is no ordinary villain." 

"It is of no concern to me," said Darlus, hacking his way through the jungle. "I will slay him in no time. Besides, I know a lot about you, He-Man. I know just how soft you like to be with your enemies. I know how many times you let them get away when it would be so much easier to just stab them to death." 

"Darlus…" He-Man said, "to kill any living creature is to abuse the power of Grayskull. I have let my opponents survive many times, because to take any life is morally wrong, even an evil one…" 

"Yes, I've heard all about that rubbish you preach!" snapped Darlus, not looking back. "My father was foolish enough to agree with it. Here on Tralmar we do things the right way… now that _I_ am King." 

He-Man was completely taken aback. Darlus seemed to be turning out to be even worse than he had thought. It looked as though under the rule of Darlus, Tralmar was going to turn into some kind of dictatorship, as if Skeletor were the ruler! 

"Darlus…" said He-Man, "you must listen to me… you're letting your anger over your father's death get the better of you. You'll only lead yourself into danger. You should take some time to calm down, and let me handle Skeletor." 

"Yes, you would say that, wouldn't you?! You _always_ have to take the position of hero yourself. I pity you, He-Man. Today it shall be I, the real hero, who saves the day!" 

He-Man stopped in his tracks, in disbelief. It was no use him trying to calm Darlus down. He would just have to do his best to keep Darlus out of trouble once they were in the castle. As Darlus hacked on through the tall plants, He-Man looked back and let Teela and Malina catch up with him. 

"I don't believe this," He-Man said, "have you two heard what Darlus was just saying to me?" 

"No," said Malina, "we were too far, but I can probably guess." 

"He's going to run headfirst into danger," said He-Man, "he's determined he's going to beat Skeletor all himself, and he's spewing abuse at me because I spare villains' lives!" 

Malina opened her mouth in disbelief, then said, "I told you the guy was a psycho! He was prattling on with crap like that this morning, about how the Snake Army were right to excise hierarchy and all that. He-Man, you can not let this guy rule this island!" 

"That's what I'm worried about," said He-Man, "I don't like the atmosphere of this place. Not just because of the sense of evil and all that… this island seems unsettled and degraded. I didn't like the way Darlus addressed the citizens at all." 

"Well, I've gotta admit I don't know much about this island," said Malina, "but I have to agree… I don't reckon King Aldreck's rule can have done them much good either. This place needs one serious reboot." 

As they moved on through the dense vegetation, Darlus still hacking on ahead of them, He-Man noticed that Teela had not commented on Darlus' behavior at all. Surely she couldn't still like him after all this? He felt the time was right to finally ask her, and said, "Teela… what do you think of Darlus now? I mean, with the way he's acted since we arrived here." 

"I don't know," said Teela despondently, shaking her head slightly. 

"Come on Teela, you can't tell me you're, um…" he fumbled through his mind for the right words, "_impressed_ by him after all this? I mean… there seems to be some kind of vibe between you and Darlus…" 

"Yes, we slept together last night," she said abruptly, cutting He-Man off. "He seduced me at the party, I guess I was a bit drunk or something…" 

_Ha! She actually said she was DRUNK!_ He-Man really wished he was in the form of Adam right now, he'd have had a wonderful time gloating over that revelation. 

"…but I like him…" she continued, "…I definitely don't think he's… um, the right man for me or anything…" her eyes shifted left towards He-Man for a split second. He wasn't sure if she'd meant that glance as a suggestion or anything, but he couldn't help but register it. "…but I kind of feel sorry for him… he's pretty badly scarred, he got abused as a kid… I think that's why he feels he has to excise superiority over everyone. But yes… he's going way too far." 

Cutting away a tangle of vines with the Power Sword, He-Man nodded, then unseen to the two women, smiled to himself triumphantly. If only he was Adam right now… he'd be able to give Teela a good 'Told you so' look. 

With Darlus still ahead of them, they began to emerge from the murky undergrowth, and the sky became visible to them once again. It seemed a million times darker than before. Facing them was a huge, steep hill, and atop the hill stood the dark, menacing, and grotesquely intimidating silhouette of Castle Dronicus. 

Still not turning back to acknowledge his comrades, Darlus began to ascend the hill rapidly. 

"Darlus is clearly very disturbed," said He-Man, "and if we don't help him, then this island won't be much better off than it will if Skeletor wins…" 

"Well, Darlus will be dead in no time, at this rate," said Malina. 

"It is my duty to prevent that," said He-Man. "Let's press on, my friends. I can feel the evil of Skeletor in the air right now." 

They continued to ascend the hill, and the foreboding castle seemed to appear more and more intimidating as they edged their way towards it. When they reached the top, they saw that the great wooden doors which led into the castle were wide open. 

"Guess they're expecting us," said Malina upon seeing the open doors. Darlus kept on ahead of them, his speed accelerating as he passed through the doorway into the blackness beyond. 

"He's not safe, I've gotta take the lead," said He-Man, and quickly ran over to Darlus, gently placing his hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "Wait," he said. 

Darlus glared into He-Man's face with a look of total disgust. "What on Eternia do you think you're doing?" he said, his face contorting into an intense scowl. 

"We've gotta be careful," replied He-Man, "we've no way of knowing what kind of traps Skeletor may have set for us." 

"I'm perfectly well-armed for any…" 

"No, Darlus, you're not," said Malina, catching up with them. "We'll all be a lot safer if He-Man takes the lead. He's had the most experience with Skeletor… and needless to mention, he's got the power of Grayskull." 

Darlus thrust his angry stare towards Malina, and scoffed, "And what do you know? You're not even a warrior, you stand no chance of surviving in here…" 

"Darlus, He-Man's right," interrupted Teela, "he's only concerned about your safety. I know you're angry at the death of your father, but you mustn't let that get the better of you." She looked at him sympathetically. 

He-Man felt content to have finally heard Teela back up himself rather than Darlus. Darlus seemed to take Teela more seriously, for his scowl loosened slightly, he paused for a few seconds, then said, "All right. But once we find Skeletor, remember this is _my_ fight." 

The four of them continued onward, with He-Man in the lead. At the end of the corridor, they came to one huge doorway, its great wooden doors parted slightly in the center, with a glimmer of light shining through from within. 

"This must be the throne room," said He-Man, "everyone be careful. We're going in." He drew the Power Sword, then gently pushed open the doors… 

And the four of them instantaneously found themselves under attack from a vicious swarm of gigantic bats! Malina screamed in shock as one of the bats thrashed its wings right against her face, and scraped at her neck with its claws. He-Man frantically swished the Power Sword through the air, managing to hack off a few of the creatures' wings. But this was no great feat as the creatures seemed to be everywhere, the sound of their intensely flapping wings echoing through the air as they clawed at their victims' chests, chaotically biting at their necks, sending blood spurting through the air. Before the heroes realised it, the bats were gripping their shoulders in their claws and gliding through the throne room holding on to their preys like eagles. Then they violently thrust each of their victims to the ground. He-Man, Teela, Malina and Darlus each landed heavily on the hard stone floor. 

"Back, my beauties, back!" came a loud, gruff voice, and the heroes looked up to see the hairy form of Beast Man standing before them, his arms raised aloft as he commanded the swarm of bats. The bats obediently scattered off into the four corners of the room's ceiling, perching themselves aside the walls. Then Beast Man said, "Master- our captives," and stepped aside to reveal a huge throne in the center of the wall, atop an enormous mound of skulls and bones, with a dried lake of blood visible around its edges. And in the throne sat the terrifying figure of Skeletor, his eyes blazing red with triumph, as Evil-Lyn sat casually on the arm of the throne, smiling with evil satisfaction. 

"So, at last you've arrived!" said Skeletor, "I knew you'd accompany Darlus to the castle, He-Man… so I arranged a warm welcome for you!" 

One of the large bats flew down from above towards He-Man's chest, and He-Man stumbled back as the creature thrust its head towards a large cut on his neck, drinking his blood. Before He-Man could react, Beast Man held up his hand and said to the bat, "Back, I say! You can feed on his blood later, when he's dead at our feet!" 

As the bat quickly flapped back up to the ceiling, He-Man remarked, "I've fought worse brutes than those bats, Skeletor. Now let's just get this over with." He picked up the Sword of Power from the spot where it had fallen, and held it in front of him. 

"Tsk, where are your manners, He-Man?" mocked Skeletor, "Trying to start fights with me without good cause? I did not challenge you, I challenged… Darlus." He pointed his bony finger at Darlus. 

"Yes, and I am more than ready to accept that challenge!" said Darlus, holding his sword in front of him and ascending the steps towards the throne. "You killed my father… and you think you can take away my kingdom like this? I'll teach you to mess with Darlus!" 

Evil-Lyn smirked and stifled a laugh at Darlus' over-confidence. He-Man began to ascend the steps after him, shouting "Darlus, no!" 

"You back out of this!" Darlus said, looking back at He-Man with a scowl. "Like Skeletor said, he challenged _me_, not you!" He quickened his pace and ascended further towards Skeletor, who simply sat back in the throne, the glow in his sunken eyes flickering with amusement. 

"Darlus, don't be stupid…" said He-Man, running up after him. Teela began to ascend the steps too, shouting, "Darlus, don't do it! You don't realise what you're dealing with!" 

Skeletor sighed, looked at Beast Man, and said, "Beast Man, keep those two occupied would you?" He pointed to He-Man and Teela. 

"Right away, boss!" growled Beast Man, and called to the bats, "Get to work, my pets!" The huge bats immediately swooped down from all corners towards He-Man and Teela, some of them attacking Malina as well. As the bat that had tried to drink He-Man's blood before careened into his chest, He-Man lost his footing and stumbled backwards down the steps, dropping his sword and flailing his arms about wildly as he fell down. As another bat struck at Teela, Beast Man himself gripped his hairy arms around her torso, scraping at her skin. The bat grew excited and flapped its wings more and more intensely as more blood was drawn from Teela's body. As He-Man, Teela and Malina struggled against the great bats, Darlus reached the top of the throne, on which Skeletor still sat calmly, Evil-Lyn beside him. Raising his sword above his head, Darlus shouted, "Now, Skeletor… prepare to die!" He lowered his sword towards Skeletor's chest… 

And out of the blue, Skeletor suddenly exploded into a huge burst of magical power! The Overlord of Evil's entire form rapidly emanated great beams of incredible power, from his eyes, his chest and his fingertips, all blasting right towards Darlus, throwing him violently into the air and across the room, landing heavily on the hard stone floor. Skeletor then vanished into thin air… and re-appeared in front of Darlus' fallen body, which was covered in cuts and bruises, his eyes half-closed in a daze, barely conscious. Skeletor's eyes glowed bright red, and his maniacal laugh echoed throughout the entire throne room. 

"Never before has one so foolishly attempted to attack me, with such brazen naivety!" he laughed, "Now you suffer your deserved fate!" He gripped hold of Darlus' neck and violently pulled him from the ground. Then he carried his body over to the other side of the room, stopping before the wall. He glared into Darlus' bruised, half-closed eyes, and a look of fear spread over the beaten Prince's face as the fiery red glow of Skeletor's eyes beamed murderously into his own. 

"What do you expect me to do?" mocked Skeletor, "Stab you? Decapitate you?" 

Darlus' eyes quivered in fear. Skeletor then flicked a small, stone lever built into the wall, and a small hole within the wall slid open. Skeletor held Darlus right in front of the hole, down which a narrow shaft slid into complete blackness. Skeletor then said, "Prince Darlus… prepare to face the depths of… the Suffocation Pit!" And with that, he violently thrust Darlus' body down the shaft, and Darlus screamed in terror as he slid down towards the narrow pit within. A loud thud was heard as Darlus hit the bottom. Looking into the blackness of the hole, through which Darlus could no longer be seen, Skeletor called, "You didn't think I'd be kind enough to grant you a quick death, did you… when Castle Dronicus has all the suitable facilities for a slow and very, very painful one!" Another deafening laugh emitted from the maniacal warlord's fleshless jaw, and he flicked the stone lever back and slid the Suffocation Pit shut. 

Meanwhile, Teela, He-Man and Malina were engaged in a rough struggle with Beast Man and his gigantic bats. Teela, stricken with horror over what Skeletor had just done to Darlus, was pinned heavily to the ground by Beast Man, who was digging his nails deep into her thighs as one of the bats perched on her breast, biting and clawing at her neck. Aside her, Malina was desperately trying to fend off two of the bats, which were flapping their wings heavily against her torso as they scraped at her neck. Summoning all her agility, she violently and abruptly thrust out both of her arms, shocking the bats as her fists punched both of them in the stomachs. With the bats off her back for a few seconds, she then took an immense leap into the air, flipping over in mid-air and landing feet first on top of Beast Man's head as he attempted to bite into Teela's legs. The man of the wild gave a cry of pain and let go of Teela, allowing her to jump to her feet, the bat still clinging to her breasts. Malina then sneaked up behind the bat, and seized it by the wings, yanking it away from Teela, then she quickly bashed her knee into its body, and dropped the creature to the ground, stunned. 

"Guess that's the first time you've been saved by someone who 'isn't a warrior', huh?" mocked Malina, looking smugly at Teela. 

"Why, you- never mind that!" scowled Teela, "Did you see what Skeletor just did to Darlus? We've gotta save him!" 

"You won't have the chance, my beauty," said Skeletor, turning his attention to the remaining trio of warriors, with He-Man desperately defending himself against the bats with his sword. "Beast Man, have you the energy to command those bats to back down?" 

Beast Man, who was slumped on the ground, dazed by the blow to the head he'd received from Malina, slowly rose to his feet and slurred, "Uh… back, my pets, back away!" The bats obediently turned their attention away from the heroes and flew back up to their high perches, some of them worn out and injured in their scuffle with the heroes. 

He-Man, relieved at being free from the bats at last, gripped his sword tight and said, "Skeletor, once again you have proved that your evil knows no bounds. Now release Darlus. Whatever power you have acquired here, it is no match for the power of Grayskull… the power of justice." 

"Always one to jump to conclusions, aren't you, He-Man?" taunted Skeletor. "Darlus is staying in there to suffocate… with him out of the way, I can gladly pronounce myself to be the true ruler of Tralmar. And soon I will be the ruler of all Eternia… once you have felt the power of Dronicus." 

"You evil tyrant!" said Teela, furiously. "Darlus did nothing to you… how can you be so cruel as to let him die like this!" 

Skeletor merely laughed in response, then said, "That fool is already the most loathed man on Tralmar. You must have seen how _fearful_ of him the natives are… he's been manipulating his father for a whole decade, ruling this island through Aldreck in his pathetic manner." 

Teela and He-Man looked at one another in shock. Darlus was _that_ bad? He'd been controlling his own father all these years, in order to excise his own regime?! 

"And now the fool's laughable over-confidence has gotten the better of him… and led him to his death," continued Skeletor, "The locale will congratulate me when they hear of his slaying. But enough talk… it is time you witnessed my new improved powers. The powers bestowed upon me by the Blood of Dronicus." 

Evil-Lyn teleported herself to Skeletor's side. She'd been sitting back on the arm of the throne watching all the action… now it was time for her to join in. 

"Ready, Lyn?" said Skeletor. 

"Ready," smiled Evil-Lyn. He-Man and his friends quickly assumed their action stances, ready to fight. 

Then both Skeletor and Evil-Lyn abruptly vanished into thin air, and He-Man, Teela and Malina were each blown off their feet by a sudden burst of incredible crackling energy from behind! They each landed heavily on the ground, several metres away, and had barely managed to collect themselves when they saw Skeletor and Evil-Lyn running rapidly towards them, both emitting beams of bright yellow energy from the palms of their hands! They attacked so fast that He-Man and Teela were unable to dodge the beams before they had hit them in the chests. Skeletor and Evil-Lyn then proceeded to propel He-Man and Teela backward with the beams, forcing them out through the great doors of the throne room and into the entrance hall. They forced them through a small door which led into a tiny room, empty but for several flaming lights which illuminated an array of gruesome gargoyles which decorated the walls. Then Skeletor and Evil-Lyn stopped, keeping He-Man and Teela suspended in mid-air at the end of their beams. 

At that moment Malina burst into the room from behind, and exuberantly thrust a high kick at Skeletor, hitting him between the shoulder blades. "Let them go, you skull-faced creep!" she shouted. 

Skeletor was staggered slightly by the kick, and lost his concentration, which weakened the beam and allowed He-Man to drop to the ground. Quickly he spun his head round towards Malina, then took a leap backwards so that He-Man and Malina were both clear in his sight. The kick he'd received from Malina would have no dire consequences… he had been about to drop He-Man anyway, and was ready to unleash the full terror he had been preparing for the heroes. 

He motioned for Evil-Lyn to drop Teela. The witch raised her hand, projecting Teela higher above ground, then she dissipated the beam and Teela fell to the ground with a loud thud. Skeletor then took several steps back, and so did Evil-Lyn, so both of them were standing right against the walls on opposite sides of the room. Skeletor spread out his arms and said, "Brace yourselves, heroes of Eternia… for your fate lies a LONG WAY DOWN!" 

Instantly, the floor gave way beneath them, and He-Man, Teela and Malina plunged down into the immense blackness below, from which the cries of fearsome, hungry beasts could be heard, ready to devour their prey. The ground sealed itself once again, leaving Skeletor and Evil-Lyn alone in the room. 

"At last… they are out of our way!" exclaimed Evil-Lyn gleefully. 

"The maze of traps in the dungeons beneath Castle Dronicus will finish those two women off in no time…" replied Skeletor, moving closer to her across the room, "and if they do not succeed in terminating He-Man, they will at least keep him occupied long enough for me to begin the next stage of my conquest!" 

"Excellent…" smiled Evil-Lyn, "So, what do we do next?" 

"The island of Tralmar is safe in my hands, with Darlus assassinated and He-Man out of the way. Now I make my presence as ruler known to the people… and we recruit slaves and warriors to aid my conquest of Eternia!" 

Evil-Lyn smiled triumphantly. "Then let's begin!" 

* * *

Part 2  
Mosquitor's Fan Fiction 


	2. Part 2

BLOOD OF DRONICUS

part 2

by 

Aidan Cross

03/24/04

* * *

He-Man, Teela and Malina received a soft but uncomfortable landing in a shallow pit of earth, crawling with worms and insects. Dazed slightly for a few seconds, He-Man raised himself on his arms and got to his feet. Teela and Malina lay on the ground before him, staggered by the long fall. 

"Well, Skeletor's power sure has been boosted…" said Teela, "He's gonna be much more difficult to beat now. We should have brought some backup with us." 

He-Man looked around himself, trying to make out as much as he could in the surrounding blackness. They were clearly in some kind of underground tunnel network, deep within the hill on which Castle Dronicus stood. He could just make out a series of black, rock hard walls, while the cries of beasts echoed in the distance. It didn't look like it was going to be long before their next fight. 

"This Dronicus ruled over Tralmar for many centuries…" said He-Man, "he caused ultimate chaos over the whole island. If Skeletor is absorbing his power, this place is in real trouble… the power of Dronicus combined with that of Skeletor will not be an easy force to reckon with." 

"Well, there's no point just sitting here talking," said Teela, "we've gotta take action right away. I can't believe what Skeletor did to Darlus… but chances are he may still be alive in that pit. We've gotta try to find a way through to him before he suffocates!" 

"Well, you can't say Darlus wasn't asking for it," said Malina, rolling her eyes. "Just face it, he had that fate coming for him all along. If he comes out alive, hopefully he'll have learned to control his Ego…" 

"Ha, you're one to talk about controlling your Ego!" mocked Teela, "the amount of showing off that you've been doing…" 

"Easy now, calm down," said He-Man, "we've no time for arguments right now. Darlus let his Ego get the better of him… so we've gotta keep calm, or we'll end up in just as much trouble as him. No doubt Skeletor's going to set about enslaving the whole island now, and it probably won't be long before he uses his new powers to attack Grayskull. So we've gotta do our best to find our way out of here in time to stop him." 

"And are we gonna save Darlus?" asked Teela. 

"We'll try to find a way through to the Suffocation Pit in case he's still alive," said He-Man, "And since the Suffocation Pit is joined to the throne room, if we find it I should be able to break back through to the surface. We've gotta set about finding our way- but we must be careful. By the sound of it there's a lot of dangers down here." 

"Then let's get going," said Teela, getting to her feet and brushing some of the soil off her legs and torso. "I'll contact my father back at the palace and tell him to mobilise defences in case Skeletor attacks." She pulled her communication device out from her belt, and punched in Man-At-Arms' code. 

"You're through to Man-At-Arms," came Man-At-Arms' voice from the communication device. 

"Father, this is Teela. You must mobilise defences right away. Skeletor has gained an incredible boost of power from the blood of Dronicus and we weren't well-prepared enough to combat his new power level. Now he's trapped us in the caverns beneath Castle Dronicus and imprisoned Darlus in a Suffocation Pit to die. The whole island's in his hands and he's no doubt going to set about using his new power to wreak more havoc." 

"I'll set up the guards and summon the Masters right away," said Man-At-Arms, "I'll also despatch some of the Masters to Tralmar to handle business over there." 

"Okay. And tell them to try to rescue Darlus from the Suffocation Pit in the castle. The pit's at the side of the throne room. We're trying to make our way there ourselves, but chances are we may fail." 

"No problem. I'll tell them to try to find their way to rescue Darlus and you." 

"Thank you, father. Over and out." 

Teela tucked the communication device back into her belt. "Let's get going," she said. "Hopefully the Masters will be able to keep Skeletor under control while we try to find our way out of here." 

"Okay," said He-Man, "I'll use my sword to give us some light…" he reached behind his back to draw the sword, but felt only an empty sheath. "Damn… I must have dropped the sword when Skeletor blasted us with the energy beams." 

"Oh no…" said Malina, "what could he do with it?" 

"Nothing," He-Man replied, "the sword is useless in the hands of anyone evil. But it means we're gonna have to rely purely on our senses to find our way round here. Stick close together… and listen out for anything coming our way." 

"Right. Lead the way, He-Man," said Teela. 

The three of them carefully made their way through the caverns. Little could be seen in the immense blackness, but they could just make out the firmly crafted, gothic archways above the rocky ground, and the occasional gargoyle peering out from the walls, some of them enhanced with striking, glowing eyes that provided a faint source of light. Bats flapped through the air above them, while spiders and insects scuttled over the walls and floors like rapidly darting particles of heated gas. But these harmless creatures were clearly the friendliest of occupants of the dungeons… for in the distance, disturbing sounds of low growling and reptilian shrieks echoed through the blackness. 

As they passed through the narrow series of caverns, they had no sense of whereabouts they were or how near or far they were to the surface. It just seemed to be one narrow cavern after another, leading them in a senseless, meaningless direction. 

"This is getting us nowhere…" remarked Malina, "wouldn't we be better off looking in the walls or something? There might be hidden passages. Who knows, we might be right on the edge of the Suffocation Pit, if Teela really wants to rescue Darlus that badly." 

"Why, you insensitive little-" began Teela. 

"Hey, you watch what you call me," interrupted Malina, "'cos I'm telling you I can call you much worse things." 

"Nothing that would be as apt as the stuff I wanna call you!" snapped Teela, turning round on her heel and thrusting her finger towards Malina. "Don't you have any respect for anyone? Of course I want to rescue Darlus, and I would do even if I didn't know him! Even if he has been a little arrogant, he's still human and deserves to live just as much as anyone else. And you don't realise just how laughable it is to hear someone as arrogant as you call _him_ things like that!" 

He-Man turned and began, "Hey, easy now you two, I don't think we should…" 

His attempted intervention seemed to have no effect. "Hey, I'm nowhere near as bad as him…" continued Malina, "didn't you see how frightened of him his people were? And what Skeletor said about him manipulating his father… the man's virtually evil! I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to live, we all do, it's just that he's probably dead already and I don't get why the heck you like him so much!" 

"My romantic feelings for him have faded," Teela said firmly, "I've decided now that we shouldn't be together in that way. But he's insecure… he seems very psychologically unstable… and I want to help him see the error of his ways. Now if you'd learn to have some of what we civilized Eternians call _respect_…" 

"Excuse me, I have plenty of respect, only I save it for people who are worth it… which is why I don't get why you seem to think so highly of Darlus when there's people like… Prince Adam." 

"Oh, please…" began Teela. 

"Enough!" shouted He-Man, "We can't afford to waste time arguing. Save all disputes for when we've escaped, OK? If we fight among ourselves then we've no chance against whatever obstacles lie in our way." 

Teela turned to look at He-Man, and blushed slightly with shame. "I'm sorry, He-Man…" she said, filled with embarrassment over her outburst. As Captain of the Guard, it was always her job to enforce co-operation in difficult situations, and now she was going right against her rules… what would her father say if he could see her now? And now she'd gone and embarrassed herself in front of He-Man as well. "I'm letting myself get carried away… I'm just really mad about what Skeletor did to Darlus, and Malina doesn't seem to have any consideration for him at all." 

"Don't worry," said He-Man, "just keep calm while we find our way… given that there could be danger around us at any time, we shouldn't even be talking without good reason." 

"OK. Let's move on." 

They moved on silently through the dark caverns, but He-Man could feel the immense tension in the air between Teela and Malina. It was not comfortable having to work with two people who were at complete loggerheads with one another. Worst of all, these two women seemed to reflect both sides of He-Man's split personality. Teela mirrored his powerful, serious and responsible side as He-Man, while Malina mirrored the more relaxed, fun-loving side of his character that he only ever displayed as Adam. And both of them were attracted to the side of his character that matched their own personality, with neither of them being aware that he and Adam were one and the same. The tension between these two was exactly akin to the tension within himself, his confusion over who he really was. He couldn't help but feel offended by the way Teela had reacted when Malina had said she respected Adam… was he really worse than Darlus when in the form of Adam? He could have let the worry consume his mind, but he knew that now wasn't the time. He had to keep his senses fully focused on his immediate surroundings, in case he and his friends were attacked or stumbled upon a trap. 

As He-Man stepped through another archway, the two women following behind him, he suddenly heard a loud clang from directly behind. He spun round to see Teela stumble back, clutching her knee, which was streaming with blood. "Something just… came down from that doorway!" she said, pointing upwards at the arch. 

"It looked like something metal…" said Malina. 

"Then move carefully through…" said He-Man, clenching his fists and preparing himself to face danger. Teela slowly inched her way through the doorway… and just as she passed through, a solid metal portcullis abruptly crashed down from the archway, clanging to the ground as Teela hastily somersaulted forward to avoid it. 

"It's a trap!" she said as she landed on her feet. 

"Well, it's nothing that I can't avoid…" said Malina, and she crouched to the ground, then abruptly sprang forth through the doorway, the portcullis emerging again the millisecond that she passed through, but narrowly missing her. She landed firmly on her feet, and said, "Well, that one was pretty easy to escape… Castle Dronicus will have to do better than that!" 

All of a sudden, the ground beneath them began to vibrate, and before they could react, the ground tipped itself aside, and the three of them slid swiftly through a sealed cavity in the wall, down into complete blackness. Within seconds, they found themselves immersed in shallow, murky swamp water, with a horde of gruesome goblins and basilisks heading towards them. 

"I spoke too soon," said Malina, "It already has done better!" 

* * *

The blood of Dronicus trickled down over Skeletor's hand… he felt the power surge over his skin as he held his hand into the fountain… then he leaned forth once again, and led the blood slide over his teeth into the depths of his mouth. Once again, his body writhed with evil pleasure as he swallowed the blood, feeling the power of Dronicus becoming a part of him. 

Evil-Lyn strode over to him, holding a golden chalice in her right hand. The chalice was filled with more of the glorious blood. She slowly touched it to her lips, and let the blood spill over into her mouth, swallowing it all in one gulp. 

"The more blood we consume, the more power we share between us," she said, overjoyed at the sense of power being acquired into their bodies simultaneously. She looked down into the pool of blood as it coursed through the fountain. There was so much power there for them to consume… all encased within that beautiful, seductive liquid, its passionate crimson flickering in the light of the torches of the chamber. "This is just the type of power we've been waiting for all this time. Must we consume it all…? I could not stand to destroy the beauty of this fountain by drinking all its blood." 

"Before long, this blood should have given us the power we need to breach Grayskull… and overcome The Sorceress," said Skeletor. "Then, once I have the power of Grayskull… the power I have coveted so long… there will be no need to consume any more blood. We will be able to leave this intact." 

"Good…" said Evil-Lyn, "we can forever keep this fountain as a monument to our power. The legacy of Dronicus shall live on within us." 

"Only that Dronicus was a fool…" replied Skeletor, his eyes flickering, "he had all this power at his command… and never used it to reach anywhere beyond this pithy island. Now that his blood is a part of myself… it shall be I who does justice to its incredible power." 

"So do we attack yet?" asked Evil-Lyn. 

"Follow me," responded Skeletor. He led Evil-Lyn out of the chamber, through a doorway in the throne room, and into the great spire of Castle Dronicus. Together, the Lord of Destruction and his sorceress accomplice ascended the spire, slowly making their way up its rocky, irregular steps, until they reached the top. They looked out over the edge… onto an incredible, immense view of the entire island of Tralmar. Every acre of the island could be seen, all around them… from the steep hilltop on which the castle stood, to the dense jungular undergrowth surrounding it, to the gray, worn-out rooftops of the ancient villages and towns of the island… to the exquisite, timeless sea beyond it all, its calm, dark waters stretching out into the infinite distance. 

Skeletor and Evil-Lyn looked out over the edge of the spire, admiring the landscape, then they looked back at one another, and their eyes met. Evil-Lyn smiled, and Skeletor's eyes flickered calmly with delight. This land was all theirs. It was all under their control… and no-one else's. 

A light raindrop landed faintly on the bone of Skeletor's skull. It was followed by a series of others, lightly spilling around the two evil leaders. Evil-Lyn held out her arms, and felt the pleasure of the rain trickling down from the dark, swirling clouds onto the palms of her hands. 

"Time to make our presence known, I think," she said. 

"Yes," replied Skeletor, "Let's introduce Tralmar to its new rulers." 

He turned and looked out over the exquisite landscape. "People of Tralmar…" he began, his voice echoing loudly throughout the night sky, audible over the whole island, "This is the voice of your new ruler… Skeletor. Your pathetic Prince Darlus, the man who tortured you for years, is no more. He has been assassinated… at my hands. You have been bound by weak rulership for many years… but no more." 

Across the whole island, citizens turned and looked to the skies with curiosity upon hearing the voice that was emanating from above them. The image of Castle Dronicus, towering above the whole island, looked down on them… and from its spires, the dark, twisted but nevertheless calm and strangely charismatic voice of Skeletor travelled through the night air. 

"I am here to bring prosperity to this island," he continued, "correct the mistakes of the fools who have ruled over you for centuries. The power of Dronicus courses through my veins… and it is the power that will soon give me the key to all of Eternia… and the whole universe. You are being ruled… by the greatest ruler the universe will ever know. Give yourselves to me. I am your master. I am your God. Attempt to oppose or disobey me… and you shall perish in unimaginable pain. You all belong to me… I, Skeletor, Master of the Universe. This is my kingdom. The new era has begun." 

The island was swept by vibes of excitement, shock, confusion and fear in response to the announcement. All these vibes could be sensed from the top of the spire of Castle Dronicus, as the raindrops that fell lightly from the sky became denser and heavier, and were soon accompanied by the rumble of thunder from above. Skeletor craned his neck and looked to the skies. The rain became heavier still, and the sound of it grew louder as it began to pour over the great solid stone that comprised the exterior of Castle Dronicus. A flash of lightning emitted from the skies, illuminating the whole of Skeletor's view of the island, and the previously calm landscape was now engulfed in an intense, but exquisite thunderstorm. 

"It's our welcome…" remarked Evil-Lyn. 

"Tonight is a night for celebration…" replied Skeletor, "tonight I have come one step further in my conquest of the whole universe. Our conquest of Grayskull and Eternia is not far off. Come, Evil-Lyn… let us drink in celebration." He turned, and led Evil-Lyn back down the steps of the spire, down to the throne room, where newly lit flickering torch lamps now illuminated the great throne atop the mound of skulls. He-Man's sword of power was positioned on a stand by the throne. 

Skeletor ascended the steps to the throne, followed by Evil-Lyn. He reached out and picked up a golden chalice that rested on the arm of the throne. Then he descended the steps once more, and Evil-Lyn followed him back into the chamber where the fountain of blood was running. The chalice she had been drinking from before was resting on the stone rim of the fountain. She picked it up, and Skeletor said, "Now we drink." 

"We drink more blood?" enquired Evil-Lyn. 

"More than just blood," replied Skeletor. He reached deep into his cape, and seemingly by magic, produced a large, glass bottle of elegant, still white wine. Evil-Lyn's eyes lit up at the sight of the priceless beverage. "This is one of the most valuable wines in Eternia," Skeletor stated, "brewed in the vineyards on the border of the Black Continent. I have concocted a most wondrous cocktail for our consumption…" He unscrewed the lid, and gently poured a stream of wine into both chalices. Then he laid the bottle aside, and pulled out a smaller bottle, filled with beautiful crimson liquid that was clearly nothing other than the Blood of Dronicus itself. He poured the blood into both chalices, and the wine in both was slowly engulfed with a cloud of crimson particles, diffusing through it until the cocktail was a stunning light scarlet color. 

"I offer a toast… to the genius and power of myself- Skeletor, Lord of Destruction." 

Skeletor and Evil-Lyn toasted, then simultaneously raised the chalices to their mouths and began to consume the gorgeous cocktail. 

"This tastes wonderful…" remarked Evil-Lyn, "you have come up with a perfect mixture, Skeletor. I could drink this all night." 

"Just one example of the many wonders of which I am capable," replied Skeletor. "You are privileged to rule at my side, Evil-Lyn." 

"I know I am," she replied, gazing upon him in admiration, into the dignified red flicker of his eye cavities. "I like you when you're like this, Skeletor. When you're calm… and free from all the intensity that the war against He-Man inflicts upon you. These are the times when you're at your best." There were so many times, amidst their conflict, that Skeletor was consumed by raving insanity, bursting with stress and frustration over their constant struggles with He-Man and his forces. These were difficult times for the two of them… but it was times like the present moment, when Skeletor regained his dignity and composure, that Evil-Lyn was reminded why she worked at his side. 

"I will be permanently at my best…" replied Skeletor, "once I have the power of the universe within my hands. I may be insane… but there is method in every inch of my madness." 

"Who wants to be sane anyway… if being sane means being as boring and cowardly as Eternia's 'heroes'!" 

"Exactly!" responded Skeletor, gazing upon Evil-Lyn with esteem in his red eyes. "Now let us drink to my genius." 

They drank together, bonded by their own immense depravity. Skeletor felt his heart beat firmly against his rib cage as he gazed upon Evil-Lyn's beautiful physique. He knew that he lived for slaughter, he lived for mass destruction… but here he was, with the only living creature he had ever felt any kind of remote compassion for. Evil-Lyn was the only person in the universe who Skeletor could ever say that he actually rather liked. When she had first joined his forces, in his early days on Eternia, she had been just another one of his assistants. But she was superior to all his other minions in intelligence, power and charisma… and not to mention physique. She had quickly become more than just another assistant, and had been allowed access to his private rooms, some of his innermost thoughts… and now he was even prepared to permit her to rule at his side. She had been the victim of his wrath plenty of times, she had been punished several times alongside his other minions… but nevertheless, she had remained loyal to him, devoted her life to helping him. As divorced as he was from emotion and compassion, Skeletor could not help but feel somewhat touched by Evil-Lyn's devotion to him. Even the most hardened of hearts could not be free from just a little compassion. And his sole ounce of compassion was for her. In this moment of calm triumphance, Skeletor's true feelings for her were free to surface, and he gently laid his hand on her shoulder and caressed her clavicles as they drank. 

They were interrupted by the sound of the great castle doors opening. Skeletor had left Beast Man to stand guard of them earlier. He spun round and headed out of the chamber into the throne room. "It would appear we have visitors," he said, "Who dares to approach this castle?" He made his way through the hall, followed by Evil-Lyn, and as they reached the main doors of the throne room, the doors were pushed open and Beast Man entered, his burly, dishevelled hairy form hunched over in stark contrast to Skeletor's own dignified, upright posture. 

"Master," growled Beast Man, "some of your citizens are here to see you." He stepped aside, holding the left door open with one arm, and a large group of gray-faced, unkempt and feeble, frightened-looking citizens of Tralmar made their way into the throne room, dressed in rags, drenched in rainwater from the storm, their postures as hunched over as Beast Man's. There must have been about twenty of them in all. Once they were all in the throne room, one by one they fell to their knees in front of Skeletor. One frail, old man looked up nervously at the Lord of Destruction and spoke, "Skeletor… master… we are here to serve you. We pledge our lives to you… oh mighty one…" 

* * *

The morning sun seeped faintly through the thick gray clouds as a new day began on Tralmar. But its rays came only within an inch of brightening the dark atmosphere of the island. For the clouds were the color of granite, and their thickness obscured the whole sky. Bleakness prevailed over the island. Yet those few rays of sunlight that penetrated the grim mist of clouds may have symbolised just a small spark of hope for the natives… for zooming through the skies, over the ocean waters that surrounded the island, were three distinct heroic shapes. The first one, in the lead, was a royal Sky Sled- and the small air machine was being piloted by a man wearing a blue bodysuit covered by red armor, his face covered by a metal helmet with two large, triangular visors fixed over his eyes. He was Mekaneck, the heroic human periscope and master spy. The second shape was that of another man- but this man was flying without the aid of a vehicle, his gray-suited arms outstretched as his blue wings flapped through the morning air, his flight speeded by a rocket jetpack, his blue, pointed visors giving his sharp eyes a birdlike appearance. He was Stratos, leader of the Birdpeople of Avion. The third shape was that of another flying warrior, only this one was less human in image. He had the appearance of a large bee crossed with a human, his huge yellow wings merely a blur as they flapped rapidly through the air, his bug-like eyes gazing straight ahead at the island. He was Buzz-Off, ruler of the Andreenids. 

As the three heroic warriors sped over the sea and finally saw land directly beneath them, Mekaneck slowly extended his bionic neck, and zoomed in the view from his visors onto the dark castle he could see atop the highest hill in the center of the island. 

"That's the castle we're looking for, alright," he said to the others, in his electronic voice. "Let's find a spot to land." 

Stratos looked down onto the ground below, and spotted something curious amidst the greenery of a small forest. "Hmmm, there's a fire down there," he said, "We'd best land somewhere near there and investigate." 

Mekaneck turned his head and looked downwards at the fire. "Sure thing," he said, "I'm gonna land in that clearing down there." 

Mekaneck lowered his neck, and zoomed the Sky Sled downwards into the forest clearing. As he landed the sled, Stratos and Buzz-Off came swooping down after him, landing on their feet. 

"Well, whaddayou know," said Buzz-Off, "looks like we've landed right where He-Man and the others did before!" Casting their eyes aside, the three warriors noticed a Wind Raider, parked to their right at the edge of the clearing. 

Stratos then looked up at the clouds of billowing smoke, rising above the treetops. "Let's go and investigate that fire then. Can you see what it is, Mekaneck?" 

Mekaneck extended his neck until he could see high above the tall trees. In the distance, he saw that the clouds of smoke were coming from a tall building made from light gray limestone, which had been set ablaze, flames roaring from every corner. Gathered around the building was a large crowd of people dressed in rags, most of them holding long wooden burning sticks. 

"It's some kind of castle or something," said Mekaneck, as he lowered his neck once more, "A large band of people has set it on fire. Come on, let's check it out." 

The three warriors made their way down the forest path, until the stench of smoke filled the whole air around them. In front of them was the burning building, smoke swirling all around it, making the heroic warriors cough as they set their eyes upon the sight. 

One of the people gathered around the building- a weak-looking, middle-aged man- noticed the warriors nearby, and took a slight step back, as if afraid. Some more of the people then noticed the Masters, and eyed them shiftily and apprehensively. 

"What's going on here?" asked Mekaneck, approaching the group of poor people. 

"Wh… who are you?" asked the middle-aged man. 

"We're from the Masters," Mekaneck stated, "we've been sent here by Man-At-Arms to investigate the situation here. Why have you set this building on fire?" 

The man did not respond. He looked away from the Masters, and he and the other people began to whisper among themselves. 

After about half a minute, he looked back at the Masters and said, "You… are our enemies!" 

"No we're not, we're here to help you," said Buzz-Off, "Now if you'd just explain what you're doing here you'll make it a lot easier for all of us." 

The man took a step forward, and brandished his burning stick right in front of them. "Stay away!" he cried, "We serve Skeletor, and he has warned us about you!" The other people then raised their burning sticks, as if ready to strike at the heroic warriors. 

Buzz-Off looked at his companions curiously. "They're serving Skeletor? What on…" 

"I think we can deal with this, Buzz," said Stratos. "Follow me." 

Stratos flapped his wings and flew several feet off the ground, then began to fly in a circle, as fast as he could, around the crowd of peasants and their torches. The peasants looked up curiously and nervously as the lord of the air flew repeatedly around them. 

Buzz-Off looked confused. "What's he d… oh, I get it!" Realising Stratos' plan, he took off into the air and joined Stratos, flying repeatedly around the peasants in a circle until the wind created by their combined flight extinguished the flames entirely. 

The peasants were now left with only smoky sticks, and Stratos and Buzz-Off landed back in front of them with Mekaneck. 

"_Now_ will you tell us what you're doing?" asked Buzz-Off. 

"Alright," said the leading man, "but please don't hurt us!" The whole group of peasants took a step back. 

"We're not gonna hurt you," said Stratos, "It's our duty to protect the people of Eternia. Now why have you set fire to this building?" 

"Skeletor ordered us to destroy the palace… he rules this island, so he wanted the old palace burned down!" 

"This was the palace?" asked Mekaneck. 

"Yes…" said another man, "the palace from which the wretched Prince Darlus controlled us. But now Skeletor has come to our rescue… and Darlus is no more. Skeletor is our new leader!" 

"Hold on a minute…" said Buzz-Off, "You're telling us you're perfectly content to serve Skeletor?" 

"We have pledged ourselves to him," explained one woman, "he has come to help us prosper." 

"And do you know just what Skeletor's like? He'll make all your lives a living nightmare in no time!" said Stratos. 

"He couldn't be any worse than Darlus!" said the leading man, "Darlus manipulated his father and forced cruel living conditions on all of us… took our money and possessions… made us slave for him days on end… and beat us whenever we did anything he didn't like! But Skeletor… he has promised us wealth if we serve him!" 

"Don't take what Skeletor says for granted, he's trying to win you over!" said Mekaneck. 

"Skeletor wouldn't hesitate to kill you all if he felt like it," added Stratos, "trust us, we've been fighting against him for three years and we know what he's like! He's spread chaos and committed mass genocide throughout Eternia!" 

"And Skeletor has warned us about you!" countered the man. "He has told us not to trust the Masters. He would only kill us if we were unworthy. Now in the name of Skeletor- you must leave this island!" 

The three Masters looked at one another in concern. These people really had been taken in by Skeletor. 

"You've gotta understand, Skeletor will only make things even worse for you!" said Mekaneck, "You've been seduced by his act!" 

"Skeletor's system of rule isn't normal," added Stratos, "any ruler who'll even consider putting his people to death is a bad one. You should join our side instead- we're fighting for peace and just want the best for you!" 

"Why should we believe you… when we're serving someone as powerful as Skeletor!" said the leading man. 

"That's right," said another, younger man, "we're in the service of the man who's going to rule the whole universe!" 

The whole crowd of peasants erupted into a cheer, and began to chant "Hail Skeletor!" A few more of the peasants, who were still working on burning down the palace, turned and noticed what was happening. A crowd of them walked over to the Masters, brandishing their burning sticks, and one man said, "The Masters… you must leave at once! This place belongs to Skeletor!" Then they joined in with the "Hail Skeletor!" chants. 

The three Masters looked at one another. It was no use trying to persuade these people… they'd made up their minds. 

"Alright!" shouted Stratos, raising his voice above their chants. "We'll leave you to it… but we can only give you our word that we have your best interests at heart. Once we've confronted Skeletor and driven him from this island, we'll set about improving conditions for you, and then you'll see the light. Farewell for now… and may the Elders protect you." 

Stratos, Buzz-Off and Mekaneck turned and made their way back down the forest path to where they'd left Mekaneck's Sky Sled. 

"What in the world can have driven them to become so loyal to Skeletor?" said Buzz-Off, "Are they all mad or something?" 

"Well, I really feel bad for them," said Stratos. "They've obviously led really difficult lives and so it's been easy for Skeletor to win over them by portraying himself as their savior. Which is why we've gotta take action right away- let's get over to Castle Dronicus and confront Skeletor himself." 

"And let's hope we can rescue He-Man from the dungeons as well," said Mekaneck. "I'm not worried about him, he can withstand whatever comes at him and he'll probably be able to make his own way out eventually. But we could really use his help right now." 

"Well let's not delay any further," said Buzz-Off. "We've got a date with Skeletor!" 

They made their way back to where the Sky Sled was parked, and Mekaneck blasted off on the Sky Sled while Stratos and Buzz-Off took off alongside him. 

Together they flew through the grim skies towards the dark, foreboding shape of Castle Dronicus, on the hilltop in the distance. 

"By the Elders, just look at that!" said Buzz-Off, and pointed downwards with his claw. Stratos and Mekaneck looked down and saw a village comprised from decrepit, stone houses- with banners strung across the rooftops and trees depicting the words "HAIL SKELETOR THE SAVIOR". 

Stratos shook his head. "We've gotta put a stop to this madness as soon as we can. The people here have no idea what they're in for!" 

The warriors kept on, until the grim shape of Castle Dronicus grew larger in the distance. They flew over the dense undergrowth that surrounded the hill, then the hilltop itself. The gaunt towers of Castle Dronicus now stood right before them. All at once, the three spies' sharp eyes made out the sight of the hairy figure of Beast Man standing guard at the castle's main doors. He looked tired and bored, and was gazing straight ahead in an indolent haze. 

"Beast Man's standing guard, should we take him by surprise?" said Buzz-Off. 

"Not yet," said Stratos, "It's best if we land on the rooftop and see if we can sneak in through a window or something. The more subtle our entry the better." 

"I'll land just here!" said Mekaneck, and piloted the Sky Sled downwards, landing it just on the edge of the rooftop, perched upright between the sloping roof and the rim which encased the edges. Stratos and Buzz-Off swooped down and landed aside him. "Now to find a way in!" said Mekaneck, getting to his feet. 

Buzz-Off looked up at one of the towers a short distance from them. "We could easily get in through one of the tower windows," he said, "Mekaneck, if you grip onto one of us, we'll all be able to get through." 

"Good idea," said Stratos, "Mek, just hold onto me and Buzz-Off and we'll get you through." 

"Sure thing," said Mekaneck. He took hold of Buzz-Off's claw, then Stratos took hold of his other hand, and Stratos and Buzz-Off took off simultaneously, lifting Mekaneck into the air with them. They flew up to the window of the tower, then Buzz-Off led the way in, clambering in over the window ledge. 

As the three warriors let themselves drop from the window to the ground, they found themselves in a dark room, the walls and ceiling covered in cobwebs. Sprawled across the floor in the corner of the room was the skeleton of a woman, tattered remains of a dark blue dress scattered over the torso, cobwebs covering most of the bones. Another pile of bones lay on a small black rug in the center of the room, and a bloodstained skull glared ahead from atop a large bookcase. 

"Victims of Dronicus, I guess," said Mekaneck, looking around the room. 

"And just look at all these books," said Stratos, observing the bookcase, containing titles such as _The Art of Black Sorcery_ and _Spells from the Depths of Desos_. "He must have used these to teach himself his magic. No doubt Skeletor will be studying these before long if we don't get him out of here." 

"Well, there's a staircase leading downwards here," said Buzz-Off, opening the wooden door of the room, "I'd imagine the throne room's somewhere down here, and that'd be a good place to investigate." 

The Masters moved on down the staircase. It was almost pitch black, but luckily the specially enhanced eyes of each of the three spies made it easier for them to see in the blackness. 

"Think we've reached ground level," said Buzz-Off, as they came to a dead end, with another wooden door at the end of the long staircase. "This could be the door to the throne room." 

"Best push it aside…" said Stratos, "but gently!" 

Buzz-Off pushed lightly on the door, opening it slightly, careful not to let it creak. Then he peered through the gap into the room beyond. He quickly turned back to his comrades, and whispered, "It's the throne room- and Skeletor's in there!" The three warriors quickly gathered around the wooden door, peering into the gap to observe as much as they could. They could see Skeletor from behind- his face was turned away, but there was no mistaking the long, black hooded cape and the Havoc Staff in his hand. And in front of him stood a large group of armored soldiers, wearing tin helmets and holding spears. Skeletor was addressing them as they stood rigidly, listening to him. 

"…and now that the old palace of the pathetic King Aldreck and his laughable son Darlus has been destroyed, along with its occupants," Skeletor was saying, "You shall reside permanently here in Castle Dronicus, in my service. You will do nothing that has not been ordered by myself, and any breach of my rules shall result in instant torture, leading to a painful death. You are all pawns in my quest to conquer Eternia, and then the whole universe- and I have no time for weakness, cowardice or disobedience on the part of any of you. Is that understood?" 

"Yes, master," responded almost all the soldiers, at once. 

"You are in the service of the universe's most powerful leader ever. And just to prove that…" In came Evil-Lyn, pulling in a cage on a rope. Inside the cage was a snarling, fierce jungle beast, with long claws and large horns, blood dripping from its fangs. Evil-Lyn unlocked the cage and pulled it open, and instantly the beast sprang out and leaped towards Skeletor, clawing at his torso violently. Skeletor did not even flinch at the beast's attack. He spread out his arms, and incredible bolts of power shot out from his fingertips, illuminating the room like lightning. The beast sprang back as Skeletor's whole form almost exploded in its face. It then crouched, ready to charge at him again, but Skeletor pointed his fingers directly at the beast, and a series of beams of deep red, crackling magical energy emitted from his fingers and eyes simultaneously. As the beast was hit by them all, its whole form became a blaze of red, burning light, and it cried out in pain, writhing in agony as the energy crackled over its whole body. In a matter of seconds, the great beast began to crumble to the ground, its whole form reduced to a mess of bone, burned hair and fried organs. 

The army gasped in horror at the cruel fate of the jungle beast. From behind the door, Stratos, Buzz-Off and Mekaneck were equally shocked. They had never seen Skeletor inflict such a quick and intense fate on any living creature before. Clearly his power had been boosted immensely by the blood of Dronicus. 

Skeletor then turned to address the army once more. "That is not even the extent of my power. It is a mere sample. And if you dare to disobey me… you shall suffer not the same fate, but a fate one million times worse and one _billion_ times more painful! Now I am going to lead you to inspect the local villages and towns of Tralmar. I must make sure the slaves of this island are properly carrying out the tasks I set them… and that they are acting in loyalty to my greatness. Once we have the whole island inspected… we leave for Eternos City. King Randor's palace will be attacked tonight… and you will join all my minions and thousands of Eternia's deadliest demons in bringing about its destruction. Eternia will be mine tonight… and then tomorrow, we attack Grayskull- my key to the universe. Is everything understood?" 

Heads nodded amidst the army. 

"I SAID IS EVERYTHING UNDERSTOOD?!" shouted Skeletor, and fired a blast from the mighty Havoc Staff to the ground. The whole room shook, and the army all stumbled back at once. Even Evil-Lyn was taken aback by the sudden blast, and staggered back slightly. 

Frightened cries of "Yes, Master!" and "We live to serve you, mighty one!" were heard among the many soldiers. 

"Good," said Skeletor. "Now onwards we go to inspect the island! You know what will happen if any of you fail me! Follow me, your almighty ruler!" 

Skeletor, with Evil-Lyn at his side, began to lead the crowd of soldiers out of the throne room, and they marched onwards to inspect Tralmar to secure Skeletor's reign. 

Once they were all gone, Stratos, Mekaneck and Buzz-Off carefully slipped through the door into the empty throne room. 

"Now that Skeletor's slipped out for a while, this would be a good chance for us to try and rescue his captives!" said Stratos. 

"Yeah, we could seriously do with He-Man right now," said Buzz-Off, "the natives here are going along with Skeletor all too easily, we've gotta get them to switch sides." 

"Well there's He-Man's sword!" said Mekaneck, observing the sword on the stand alongside the throne. He walked over to the throne, and carefully lifted the sword from the stand. Walking back to the others, he said, "Now we just need to find a way through to He-Man so we can get it back to him." 

"And we should try to find a way to rescue Prince Darlus, as well," said Stratos, "Man-At-Arms said Teela told him Darlus had been imprisoned in some kind of Suffocation Pit… at the side of the throne room." He cast his eye to the left wall, and quickly made out the large, stone lever, fixed into the wall. "Hmmm… maybe that lever could reveal us something!" He began to walk over to the stone lever. 

"Doesn't sound to me as though rescuing Darlus will do much good," said Buzz-Off, "judging by what we've seen on this island so far, the guy was some kind of maniacal dictator! And wouldn't he be dead by now anyway?" 

"Bad guy or not, it's worth rescuing him just for the sake of his life," said Stratos, "And if he's still alive he might even be able to provide us with some useful information." Stratos reached the lever and began to push on it hard. He summoned all his strength, and pushed down as heavily as possible. "Damn right, this thing is heavy!" he exclaimed, and pushed harder and harder, until eventually the lever gave way and slowly flicked downwards within the wall cavity. As it sank, a small segment of the wall gave way, and slid aside, revealing a narrow, dark hole that led down into total blackness. 

Stratos took several steps back, gasping for breath. "Think we've found the pit alright!" he stated. 

"Now to take a look within!" said Mekaneck, and stepped towards the hole. He peered into the dark shaft, then he extended his neck, and reached it further and further down until in front of his visors, he saw the body of a tall, regally-dressed man, lying headfirst at the end of the shaft. Finding it difficult to breathe in the limited, congested space of the shaft, he shrank his neck down again, turned to Stratos and said, "There's a man's body down here! I can't tell if he's still alive or not." 

"Then just leave it to me to get him out!" said Stratos. He took off several feet into the air, then flew slowly and carefully down the narrow shaft, feeling the hard walls brush against his arms, legs and torso as he flew. He eventually reached the body, and gently gripped hold of the man's thighs, then flew backwards, carefully pulling the body up the shaft with him. 

Once Stratos was out of the shaft, he landed on his feet and gently pulled the man's body back into open space. Then he laid the body out in front of him, and touched his hand to the man's wrist. 

"Yes, there's a pulse. He's still alive- but only just." 

"Do you think you'll be able to revive him?" asked Mekaneck. 

"If I breathe some air into him, and deflate his chest, hopefully he should come to. Buzz-Off- while I work on reviving this guy, you can set about exploring the castle to find some way into the dungeons, to rescue the others!" 

"Right on!" said Buzz-Off, and turned to scout the room. 

"And you, Mekaneck- best you contact Teela and let her know we've recovered Darlus. And find out just what they're facing down in the dungeons!" 

"Sure thing," said Mekaneck. He pulled out his communication device, and punched in Teela's code. 

* * *

In the dungeons deep beneath Castle Dronicus, He-Man, Teela and Malina were caught in absolute chaos. They were trapped within a large chamber, which was the lair of thousands of bloodthirsty demons. He-Man was caught in an intense battle with a whole horde of trolls and basilisks. These gruesome, dwarf-like creatures, covered in bloodstained fur and emitting feral shrieks and growls, were charging at He-Man by the minute, rampaging over the swampy ground towards him, attacking him from all corners. He-Man was having no trouble fending them off- compared to him, the creatures were tiny and weak- but whenever he managed to injure or knock out a single one of them, several more seemed to emerge out of the blackness and charge towards him, unrestrained by the difficulty the others were having against the musclebound hero. 

Teela and Malina were not faring much better. They had both been tossed by the trolls into a deep pit at the edge of the chamber. Normally they would have had no trouble climbing out, but they were being attacked by a swarm of strange, devil-like creatures flapping through the air- all with tiny, thin red bodies, large heads with sharp horns, enormous bulging eyes, and pointed, bloodstained teeth protruding from their mouths. With thin, rapidly flapping black wings, they fluttered towards the two warrior women, clawing at their chests as they attempted to bite into their necks. The creatures were so small that it was easy for Teela and Malina to overpower them with swift kicks and punches, and use their agility and acrobatic skills to dodge the creatures' attacks. But every time one was overpowered, it would simply vanish into thin air, and others would appear constantly in mid-air above the pit, so it was impossible to tell whether the creatures were dying, teleporting, or being reborn once overpowered. 

Suddenly, in the midst of the fighting, Teela's communication unit began to beep. She quickly pulled it out from her belt and pressed the receive button. 

"You're through to Teela," she said, simultaneously knocking aside one of the creatures with her left arm, as it flew at her. 

"Teela, this is Mekaneck," came the electronic voice of Mekaneck from the other end. "I'm in the throne room of Castle Dronicus with Stratos and Buzz-Off. We've managed to rescue Prince Darlus from the Suffocation Pit!" 

"Excellent!" said Teela, dodging several more of the creatures, "So he's still alive?" 

"Only just," replied Mekaneck, "Stratos is trying to revive him and Buzz-Off and I are going to look for a way into the dungeons." 

"And what about Skeletor?" 

"He's left the building to inspect the island with his new soldiers. He's recruited all the King's soldiers as his new army, the palace has been burned down, and the locals are all too willing to pledge themselves to him. This island's in a complete mess, he's won over everyone too easily!" 

"Then don't worry about us- we're caught in chaos down here, but we're coping. Go and take care of matters on the island- help the people see the light and revolt against Skeletor!" 

"We can't just leave you here, by the sound of it you're in a pretty intense struggle…" 

"It's nothing we can't handle! We should be able to find our own way out eventually. As long as Darlus is safe, there's no need to remain in the castle. Get him to a medical center somewhere and see to business on the island. Better still, contact my father and tell him to send as many available Masters down here as he can. Then you should be able to overpower Skeletor on Tralmar, before he can use his powers on Eternos!" 

"Skeletor's powers have been boosted considerably, it's gonna be tough to beat him. But I'll do what you say." 

"Okay. Over and out." 

As she tucked the communication unit back into her belt, and struck another high-kick at the approaching devil creatures, Teela cried out, "Darlus is safe!" 

"I heard everything!" said Malina, as she fended off the foul creatures as they swarmed at her. "Now if only these things would give us a rest…" 

"Not much chance of that, I don't think these things are gonna treat guests kindly!" Teela slammed another creature into the side of the pit, and just like many others before it, it vanished into thin air. Five more then appeared in mid-air above Teela's head, and she flipped over backwards to avoid them. She was getting seriously fed up with this fight now. These things just weren't going to give up… and although they were having no trouble fending them off just now, how much longer would it be until Teela and Malina were too worn out to defend themselves adequately? 

"We've gotta find our way out of this, I'm getting seriously bored here!" 

"For once, it would seem we agree!" answered Malina, "These things are downright thirsty, we should put our blood on the market for them!" 

After a few more moments of struggling frantically against the devil creatures, Teela and Malina's prayers were finally answered when a huge burst of air emerged from above, engulfing the whole pit and scattering the creatures like flies. After flying frantically through the air, they disappeared, one by one, into nothingness. 

"Well what a stroke of luck!" said Malina, gasping for breath and leaning against the side of the pit in relief. "But where on Eternia did that blast of air come from?" 

"I think I might know…" pondered Teela, looking upwards. And sure enough, in a matter of seconds the mighty figure of He-Man came gliding down through the pit, having leaped from the edge. He landed firmly on his feet, and said "Nothing like a quick breath of fresh air after a fight, huh?" 

Teela smiled at him in admiration. "Thanks, He-Man," she said gratefully, relieved at finally having her hands free. 

"Did you cause that blast yourself?" asked Malina, looking astonished. 

"With a deep breath and a good blow from the lungs, I managed it," said He-Man. 

"Wow… I never knew you had super-strong breath!" said Malina. 

"He-Man's powers can amaze you to no end!" replied Teela. 

"But anyway, we've gotta move on," said He-Man, "I finally managed to break through that crowd of trolls, but they're still there and there's no doubt plenty more strange creatures lurking around. So we'd better make a quick escape before the party gets going again." 

"Sure thing," said Teela, "By the way, Mekaneck contacted me and said he and Stratos and Buzz-Off have rescued Darlus, and he's still alive! Apparently Skeletor's recruited the King's army and gathered slaves all over the island, so I told Mekaneck to arrange for more backup to be sent here to see to Skeletor before he can reach Eternos." 

"Good stuff," said He-Man, "though they'll have to be well-prepared, as Skeletor's power seems to have gained quite a boost. But I'm glad Darlus is safe, anyway. Now if we each take a good leap up, there's a tunnel to the left of the chamber that we can use to escape from here. There's no knowing where it leads, but it looks like our only way out." 

"Okay," said Teela. "Lead the way, He-Man." 

He-Man bent his knees, then sprang himself upwards on his powerful legs, leaping upwards through the pit and landing on the edge. Teela and Malina then both gripped hold of the side, and rapidly scaled upwards until they reached ground level once more. No sooner had they reached ground than the trolls began growling at them again from the other side of the pit, and the devil creatures began to appear once again in mid-air, making straight for them. 

"No time to stay for this stage of the party!" said He-Man, and began making straight for the tunnel at the side. Teela and Malina rapidly followed him, and as they entered the tunnel, He-Man gripped hold of a large stone pillar at the edge of the chamber, aside the tunnel entrance. He quickly yanked it out of place, and positioned it in front of the tunnel entrance, thus blocking the way for the trolls and devil creatures. 

"That'll keep them out of our way!" said He-Man, "If we need to turn back, it shouldn't be much trouble for me to smash through the pillar." 

"I just hope this tunnel actually leads us somewhere!" said Malina. 

The trio of warriors intrepidly moved on through the tunnel, which seemed to be the most deserted part of the dungeon they had encountered yet. There seemed to be no life-forms around, not even the usual insects and bats. It was just one long, deserted corridor, lit only by the occasional torch lamps which illuminated the arched ceiling and ancient stonemasonry. But they knew that there could easily be a trap waiting for them at any moment, so they moved on, cautiously and stealthily. 

After a while, it seemed like they had been walking through the tunnel for at least three quarters of an hour. "We've been walking through here for ages," said Malina, "is this tunnel gonna get us anywhere?" 

"We can only trust our instincts," said He-Man, "though it's frustrating that I don't have my sword, as I could use it to sense the right way for us to go. The fight would have been over much quicker if I'd had the sword as well, I'd have called upon Grayskull to channel more power, or fired some bolts from it to frighten the trolls." 

"Well, I just hope we find our way aboveground eventually," said Teela, "I'm anxious to see how Darlus is getting on. I hope he recovers okay." 

"And I damn well hope he's learned his lesson now!" said Malina. 

Teela looked round and glared at Malina. "I know who it is who needs to learn a lesson…" 

"Oh, come on, you can't blame me for saying that!" said Malina, mockingly. "It's true, he went completely over the top and needs to change- badly! Stop biting my head off just 'cos I'm stating the facts, instead of letting myself get blinded by lust!" 

Teela stopped in her tracks, and aimed her finger at Malina. "Blinded by lust? Please credit me with better strength of character than that. I already told you my romantic feelings for him have faded…" 

"Well your view of him still seems downright warped, I mean you think he's more respectable than Prince Adam…" 

"Enough!" interrupted He-Man. "Please don't start this again. We're in a dangerous situation and the last thing we should be doing is arguing!" 

Teela began to look embarrassed again. She was on the verge of going against her rules a second time, in one day! And she had the nerve to criticize Adam for neglecting his responsibilities… then it occurred to her, just how ridiculously harsh she had been with Adam. There was no excuse for it. She had to stop blowing up at him like this… he wasn't half as bad as her constant rants about him suggested. How low must she be making him feel? 

"I'm sorry, He-Man…" she said, looking up at him but too embarrassed to look him directly in the eyes, "I keep letting myself go astray. There's no excuse for it. And as for what I say about Adam…" 

"You sure do seem pretty hard on him…" said He-Man, "I mean… I don't know him as well as you, but if he's really worse than Darlus…" 

"He's in no way anywhere near as bad as Darlus!" Teela exclaimed. The moment she said this, He-Man felt his heart leap. Finally she had said it. Finally he could rest without the paranoia that his behavior as Adam was worse than that of Darlus in Teela's eyes. "Damn, I can't believe how stupid I've been," Teela continued, "it just gets to me how he seems to take everything so lightly and neglect his responsibilities, and I let myself get overly annoyed about it. I guess it's just… with all my responsibilities, I have less time for his jokes and games, and… and it contradicts what I admire most in a man… courage, strength and bravery." She avoided eye contact with He-Man as she said this. She knew she was making her feelings for him blatantly obvious, but it had never really been a secret anyway. He-Man had always known how strongly she admired him. 

"Well, at last you've admitted it!" said Malina, smugly. "And I think Adam's wonderful. He may not be a warrior, but we need bright, funny people to keep our positive juices flowing. He's got the best approach to life of anyone I know... he realizes the serious side, but likes to keep a light approach because life's too good to waste on stress and tension… best way to be!" 

"I… I guess you're right," said Teela, "I liked Darlus because he seemed dedicated and responsible… but it's true, he is a megalomaniac, and I really hope I can help him. Even if he does improve, he'll never be as good as Adam. Adam's like a brother to me… he'll always hold a special place in my heart." 

He-Man smiled to himself. Finally he could see Teela's true feelings on Adam, and he would remember this whenever she had a go at him in the future. But his determination to tell her his secret increased nevertheless… and he remained confused over which of these women had come closest to falling for his true self. 

"But anyway, let's move on," Teela said abruptly, "we shouldn't be wasting time with small talk when we're in danger like this. We've got to find our way to ground level!" 

They kept on through the dark passageway, relinquishing the conversation for total silence as they listened out for any signs of danger. They were getting tired, having been awake for almost two whole days without sleep, but they knew that if they slept just now, they would be risking their lives. They had to keep pressing on until the need to sleep became essential. 

After a while, they finally noticed something. Two bright red glowing spheres stood out in the blackness beyond them. 

"Stay on guard," said He-Man, "There's something straight ahead!" 

They moved on cautiously down the passage. As they grew closer, they could see the faint outline of a face around the glows. The red glows appeared to be the eyes of some kind of gargoyle. They moved closer… until they could clearly make out the features of the gargoyle. It was a large skull face built into the wall, the bright spheres placed in its eye sockets- and the jaw was slowly and repeatedly opening, then closing, then opening again… 

"Is this what we came all the way along this passage for?" said Malina, "A gargoyle?" 

"I'm not sure this is any ordinary gargoyle…" said He-Man, eyeing the glowing spheres and the clanking jaw. Each time the jaw opened, He-Man could see deep down into the mouth… and the mouth appeared bottomless, like some kind of tunnel that led deep into blackness. 

The warriors suddenly heard a huge bang from behind them. They turned round and saw a brick wall directly behind them, which seemed to have appeared from out of nowhere. 

"Where did this wall come from?" said Malina. 

"Looks like a trap," said Teela, "we've been led all this way by what seemed like a deserted passage… only to find ourselves trapped within this tiny enclosure!" 

Sure enough, the wall was blocking their way back through the passage. They were enclosed in this tiny space with the gargoyle… and there was no turning back. 

"Maybe we should just go to sleep," said Malina, "I've been fighting off tiredness, but I'm gonna lose it completely soon. It won't be long until the hallucinations kick in!" 

"We can't afford to sleep just yet!" countered Teela, "We've got to find _some_ way out. But by the look of it, we're nowhere near the exit. I can't see any way for us out of _this_ trap… the further we go, the more lost we seem!" 

He-Man was still eyeing the gargoyle, with curiosity. "Hmmm… I'm not entirely sure there's _no_ way out of here. Look down that skull's mouth… there seems to be some kind of tunnel leading downwards." 

Teela looked into the mouth, as it slowly opened and closed repeatedly. "I see what you mean… she said, "but what's the likelihood of it leading somewhere safe? It'll probably just lead into some kind of death trap." 

"Possibly… but then, this tunnel network was clearly designed to prey on people's fears… and regular prisoners would probably be terrified in the situation we're in now. They'd give in now and stay in this tiny room until they died- and that skull would intensify their fears. They'd go nowhere near it. So I'd say we should take advantage of our courage and venture down the mouth. I'm not saying it'll lead us anywhere safe… but wherever it leads, it'll be better to take the one way out rather than just stay in here and starve." 

Teela and Malina looked at one another, and nodded in agreement. 

"Okay," said Teela, "let's do it… and pray that the Elders will protect us." 

As the mouth opened once again, He-Man placed a firm grip on it, and held it down with his strength. He then slowly climbed over the stone jaw, and into the mouth. Teela and Malina followed… 

And they slid down the dark tunnel within, rapidly careening down through the blackness, until they suddenly found themselves in open space, falling down through empty air, with a pit of spikes waiting to greet them below! 

He-Man landed on the spikes, face down, and their immensely sharp blades penetrated his mighty muscles. But the most powerful man in the universe felt little pain, and quickly raised himself, turned around, and caught both Teela and Malina in his arms as they fell, before they could hit the pit of spikes. 

"By the Elders…" said Teela, observing the trap that had been awaiting them, "Thank you He-Man! I wouldn't have liked to have perished like _that_!" 

"Yes, you've got my thanks too, He-Man," said Malina, "but where are we now?" 

They looked around themselves to observe the section of the dungeon they had now found themselves in. It was a huge, circular chamber, the only entrance being the tunnel they had just come through, far above. Scattered throughout the entire room were skeletons… some sprawled amidst the pit of spikes, stained with blood, while thousands more lay around the rest of the room, covered with cobwebs and dried blood. And in the center of the room, dominating the whole scene, towering above the heroic trio, was a huge statue- a statue of a man wearing a long cape, his torso and legs covered in armor, his right arm gripping a sword. The sharp, evil eyes of the statue were shining ruby red, the hair was long, the face was contorted by an expression of twisted madness, with a pointed beard and long, sharp teeth. This was clearly a statue of the castle's legendary owner himself… Prince Dronicus. 

The heroes moved out from the pit of spikes, careful not to cut themselves on the blades. Moving towards the statue, amidst the many skeletons scattered throughout the room, they made out a small arch carved into the bottom of the pedestal. In the arch stood an urn, marked with an inscription in the ancient language. 

"Dronicus…" said Teela, who was skilled at reading ancient Eternian languages, "that urn has Dronicus' name on it in the ancient lettering style." 

"It must contain his ashes…" said He-Man. 

Above the arch in which the urn stood was a long inscription carved into the pedestal, also written in the ancient language. 

"What does that inscription say?" said He-Man, looking to Teela. 

Teela translated the inscription with ease: 

_"Welcome, heroes of commendable bravery. Only those with the strength and courage to face and endure the many terrors of the dungeon succeed in reaching this point. You may applaud yourself… but may not count yourself lucky. You have striven long hours to search for an escape… but here you shall realize there is none. You are now in line to face the true power of Dronicus. This is the point of no return. Your master will be with you shortly."_

* * *

Stratos worked hard breathing air into Darlus' mouth, repeatedly inflating and deflating his chest. Darlus' face was beginning to regain its color. Just a bit more work and hopefully he'd be revived. 

"Having any luck, Stratos?" said Mekaneck, emerging from round the corner. 

"I think he'll come round soon," said Stratos, "Then once he's recovered I'll fly him to a medical center. There should be one in one of the cities near the West coast. Then I'll be right back to help you and Buzz-Off." 

"I've had a scout around for entrances to the dungeon, but I can't find anything. So I'll check and see if Buzz-Off's found anything, and if not then I'll go ahead and radio for more backup. They should be here by the evening, and in the meantime we can do our best to keep things in order on the island." 

Just then, Buzz-Off flew in from the main doors, and landed in front of Mekaneck. "Did I hear myself mentioned? I haven't found any entrance to the dungeons. I've flown around most of the Northern half of the ground floor, and can't see anything. There's a lot of locked rooms though, so I can't be completely sure." 

"Let's radio for backup then," said Mekaneck, "Then you and me can go and take care of matters on the island." 

"I'd be sceptical about that doing any good," said Buzz-Off, "You saw how powerful Skeletor's become. We'll stand no chance against him, we'll be joining He-Man in the dungeon if Skeletor spares our lives!" 

"Yeah, but who knows what he's doing in the local villages? For all we know he might have put half the island to death already." 

"Still, we're not gonna stand a chance against him, it's probably safer if we keep looking for a way into the dungeons, and we can help the other Masters deal with Skeletor when they arrive. Who knows, we might even have rescued He-Man by then!" 

"You make good points, Buzz, but you've gotta remember why Man-At-Arms chose to send us here out of all the Masters. Because we're spies… therefore, we don't have to confront Skeletor directly. We can observe everything unseen, and help the people without Skeletor noticing. And he'll probably find it quite difficult to catch us, with yours and Stratos' aerial acrobatics, and my Sky Sled." 

Buzz-Off pondered the thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Mekaneck. Go ahead then, let's radio for…" 

"He's come to!" interrupted Stratos, triumphantly. Mekaneck and Buzz-Off looked around, and saw Darlus' eyes flicker open. He looked around himself slowly, trying to make out where he was. "What… happened?" he said, groggily. "Who are you?" 

"We're members of the Masters," explained Stratos, "Skeletor tried to inflict a cruel fate on you, but we've saved you now. You're gonna need time to recover, so I'll take you to a medical center…" 

"Skeletor!" exclaimed Darlus, "Now I remember… the bastard who tried to… steal my kingdom from me… killed my father and then… tried to kill me! He shall pay…" 

"Don't worry, we'll deal with Skeletor and keep your kingdom safe," said Stratos, "so if you just come with me…" 

"No!" interrupted Darlus, and pushed Stratos away from him as he staggered to his feet. "This island belongs to me… if Skeletor thinks he can take over my island so easily, he's got another thing coming… he shall perish at my hands!" 

"Um, no offence, but Skeletor beat you pretty easily…" said Buzz-Off, "It wouldn't be too wise to try to fight him again, even we are gonna need backup before we can hope to beat him…" 

"Who are you to talk?!" spat Darlus, looking at Buzz-Off with scrutiny. "Why should I listen to the words of some overgrown bumblebee?" 

"Hey you, watch it!" said Buzz-Off, aiming his claw at Darlus. Then he looked at Mekaneck and said, half under his breath, "Now I see why this island's in such a mess." 

"I've never been gullible enough to believe all that baloney about you so-called Masters," mocked Darlus, "especially when you're led by an over-moralistic idiot like He-Man. Yes, perhaps I do need help to beat Skeletor- but it shall come from _my_ soldiers, and I shall deliver the blow that kills Skeletor!" 

"Steady on now, my friend," said Stratos, placing his hand on Darlus' shoulder, "You need to calm down, you're letting your anger get the better of you and you're too ill to fight…" 

"Hey, no point tryin' to help him Stratos, it's obvious the guy's a lunatic!" said Buzz-Off, "given how much his people hate him there's no way he's getting the island back, even if we beat Skeletor. Let's just get this guy to jail!" 

"You're probably right," said Stratos, a touch of anger in his voice, "anyone who'll speak to me like that after I saved his life belongs with all the rest of the evil warriors in Eternia!" 

Darlus clenched his fists at Stratos, and growled, "You're the one whose life will need saving next!" 

Sensing a fight, Buzz-Off pulled his ray gun out from his belt, and shot at Darlus. Darlus was instantly stunned, and froze, temporarily paralyzed. "Now, get hold of him and we'll take him to jail!" commanded Buzz-Off. The Masters were about to grip hold of Darlus, when suddenly the main doors of the throne room swung open. The Masters turned, and saw the ferocious shape of Beast Man standing in the doorway, fangs bared with bloodthirst. 

"So!" Beast Man exclaimed, in his gruff, feral voice, "I thought I heard annoyingly familiar voices. Well, you've dared to invade Castle Dronicus, so be prepared to face the power of Beast Man!" 

"You've gotta be kidding!" mocked Buzz-Off, "there's one of you against three of us, so I think I know which side has the advantage!" 

Beast Man threw his head back and laughed savagely. "You underestimate my power, bee brain! Never forget that I, the king of the wild, have _many_ loyal beasts at my side!" He raised his voice and issued a loud command, "ATTACK!" 

At Beast Man's command, a whole horde of giant bats came flying into the throne room, followed by a huge group of ferocious beasts, marching up the hill from the jungle below. Within seconds, the whole throne room was engulfed in a ferocious battle, as the bats and jungle beasts raged towards the Masters. Stratos, Buzz-Off and Mekaneck fought intensely against their many opponents from the wild, and Darlus, only just recovering from Buzz-Off's stun beam, was tossed about violently by the fearsome creatures, bleeding all over. 

Beast Man laughed evilly as his beasts fought heavily against the outnumbered Masters. The Masters would be defeated in no time- and best of all, Skeletor would reward him greatly for having captured them for him. He took out his radio unit from his belt, and punched in Skeletor's code. 

"You're through to Skeletor, Lord of Destruction," came Skeletor's voice, through the communication device. 

"Master, this is Beast Man. I just found three of those infernal Masters sneaking round the castle… and I have set my beasts upon them. They will be down for the count in no time!" 

"Excellent work, Beast Man!" replied Skeletor, "Keep them held for me… I will give them some fitting treatment upon my return! No sign of He-Man?" 

"He is still held. The Masters did succeed in rescuing that Darlus fool, and reviving him… but he has been caught up in the fight as well, and he will be dead within the hour." 

"Then just keep the Masters under control for now… the natives of the island are all firmly in my debt, and I have set them the tasks of erecting monuments to my genius. I will return soon to deliver the final torture to my latest captives… then we head for Eternos!" 

"Very well, master!" 

"Oh yes, and… if Darlus really is still alive… you might as well keep him alive. Then I can kill him once I have shown him my magnificent conquest of his former kingdom!" 

"Certainly, master!" replied Beast Man, "I eagerly await your return. Over and out." 

Beast Man tucked the device back into his belt, and turned back to watch his beasts as they raged in battle against the Masters. Buzz-Off and Stratos were engaged in a fierce aerial combat with the bats, while Mekaneck was being held to the ground by a whole troupe of bloodthirsty jungle beasts. Darlus, meanwhile, was being thrown around violently by the jungle beasts, as several of the bats clawed at his neck, drinking his blood. He had been unprepared for the attack, and was too ill-prepared to offer any resistance whatsoever. At this rate he'd be dead within no time. 

Beast Man stepped into the fight, reached out his hairy arm, and violently grabbed Darlus by the shoulder, digging his razor-sharp claws into Darlus' muscle. He vigorously yanked him out of the fight, then carried him, dangling from his grip, to the end of the throne room, and thrust him down heavily on the floor, gasping and panting for breath. 

"Your time to perish has not come yet… I'll give you time to recover, to see your magnificent island firmly in the hands of Skeletor!" 

Inhaling a huge gulp of air, Darlus, his face and armored torso stained with blood, just managed to utter the words, "Skeletor… will… die… by my hand…" 

Beast Man laughed in pity. "Your over-confidence knows no end, does it? I would finish you myself… but I'm sure Skeletor has something a lot more… interesting planned for you!" 

He looked back to watch the fight. Each of the Masters was holding their own pretty well- after all, they weren't known as the heroes of Eternia for no reason- but they were vastly outnumbered and all of them were covered in numerous cuts, which the bats clawed at as they drank their blood. They would all be down in no time. Beast Man was glad these Masters had sneaked into the castle… for now, he had finally been given the chance to cause some havoc himself instead of obeying Skeletor's orders and standing around on that boring old guard duty. And as a result, once the Masters were all down, he'd probably receive a promotion. 

Buzz-Off and Stratos darted wildly through the air in unpredictable directions as they tried to avoid the immense number of bats preying on them. They had plenty of strength within them, but the frenzy of the fight could easily drain that eventually. Blood dripped from their arms to the ground in huge dollops. Mekaneck, his powers limiting him to the ground, was faring no better. He had extended his neck to the ceiling, and the bats had been confused by his metal neck, and some had even broken their teeth attempting to bite into its hard steel exterior. So they had given up on his neck and were making for his arms and legs. Mekaneck was still carrying He-Man's sword of power, which he swished through the air rapidly, slicing through the jungle beasts' flesh and scattering the bats. He didn't feel quite right using a weapon that was made specifically for He-Man, but it still worked more than fine. 

The fight had been raging for more than half an hour, and the heroes found themselves losing their breath. Buzz-Off's flight was stunted, and as he paused in mid-air to gasp for breath, he suddenly felt sharp claws scraping maniacally at his chest. One of the bats had a firm grip on him, and was propelling him backwards through mid-air, its claws firmly dug into his flesh as it bit at his neck. Buzz-Off's purple, Andreenid blood didn't seem any less appealing to the creature than regular human blood. That pause for breath seemed to have cost Buzz-Off the fight. He was propelled further and further backwards, through a side door of the throne room and into a dark, gloomy corridor. The bat rammed Buzz-Off into a wall, and began to drink from his throat. Buzz-Off struggled against the creature's grip, and managed to swing roughly sideways, loosening the bat's hold on him slightly as he slammed into a large gargoyle on the wall, a strange devil-like creature built in stone. 

Unfortunately, as he made contact with the gargoyle, it began to glow with a fierce red light, which burned with intense heat, and Buzz-Off cried out in pain as the light spread down his left arm. He swung about violently in mid-air, with the bat still holding onto him, and inadvertently struck a hidden, corroded metal lever against the wall, that had been almost invisible in the blackness. Abruptly, the wall gave way, and Buzz-Off found himself and the bat, which refused to loosen its grip, spiralling down through a completely black void which seemed to lead into nothingness. They fell down and down further, with the fall seeming to take forever… 

And then suddenly, Buzz-Off's fall was broken as he hit something solid. His body was racked with pain, but he fought to resist it as he looked around to make sense of where he was. 

Above him, he saw nothing but infinite blackness, like the void he had just fallen through. But below him was a large, stone body… he had landed on the shoulder of some kind of huge statue. The statue was in the center of a circular chamber filled with skeletons, with a pit of spikes at the side. And standing at the bottom of the statue was none other than He-Man, with Teela and Lady Malina by his side. 

"Buzz-Off!" exclaimed He-Man. 

"He-Man!" answered Buzz-Off, "By the Elders, what a ride I've just had!" 

Summoning his available strength, he let himself go, and fluttered downwards to the ground to join his friends. The bat still clung onto him, determined to devour the blood of its prey. 

"How did you get here?" asked Teela. 

"I… damn, if I could only get this thing off me…" Buzz-Off struggled against the bat as it clawed at his torso. 

Malina leaped into the air, then came down with a hard flying kick, and knocked the bat away from Buzz-Off's torso. The creature fell unconscious to the ground. 

"Wow… thanks," said Buzz-Off, "that thing just wasn't giving in." He paused, and gasped for breath. "Good grief, I could do with a good rest now!" 

"Then you just take it easy," said He-Man, laying his hand on Buzz-Off's shoulder, "We're all ready to strike if anything threatens us. So how did you come to land in here?" 

"I don't know… I got in a fight with that thing, and I think I hit some lever as I was battling it out, and a bit of the wall gave way… and I fell, and ended up here!" 

"I wouldn't have thought this part of the dungeon would be that easy to reach," said Malina, "It's supposed to be the point that only the strongest heroes can get to!" 

"Well, that fall would have killed most people easily," said He-Man, "the statue broke Buzz-Off's fall, and he was strong enough to resist it. So he can count himself a hero, alright. What's happening up there? Have the other Masters arrived yet?" 

"Um, no…" said Buzz-Off, "we haven't called for them. We were just going to do that, and then Beast Man caught us and set all his pets on us. Mekaneck and Stratos are still up there now, battling it out… at least, I hope they're still in the fight, those things were seriously wearing us out." 

"Damn, sounds like they're in serious trouble," said Teela, "we've gotta find some way to get above ground. How about Darlus? Is he alright?" 

"I don't think so," said Buzz-Off, "he got caught up in the fight and was getting thrown around like a toy or something, he couldn't hold his own or anything! Then I think Beast Man got hold of him, he dragged him out of the fight and threw him down in a corner. Think he was saving him for Skeletor or something. But the guy was pretty badly beaten." 

"Oh no…" said Teela, "we have to act, quickly!" 

"I wouldn't be as worried about Darlus as I would about the others," said Buzz-Off, "that guy was almost as bad as Skeletor! Stratos spent ages reviving him, and once he succeeded, this Darlus guy just pushed him away and spewed loads of abuse at us!" 

Malina's mouth opened in shock and disbelief. "Why, that little… jerk! I know I'm fighting for the good guys, but I'm almost hoping Skeletor does finish that swine off!" 

He-Man was equally shocked. So Darlus had had his life saved by Stratos, and still showed no gratitude? As good-hearted as he was, it was rare that He-Man ever felt hatred for anyone- but he was coming pretty well close to hating Darlus to extremes. "Well if he survives, there's no way he's getting the island back," He-Man said sternly, "He's behaved despicably during his rule and he will be punished accordingly." 

Malina then turned to Buzz-Off, and said, "And would you believe- Teela actually _slept_ with that creep!" 

"Teela!" exclaimed Buzz-Off, looking at Teela in astonishment, "I'd have thought you of all people would know better than that! You'll be sleeping with Beast Man next!" 

Teela blushed and looked away. "Yeah… I… I should know better, shouldn't I. It was a rash choice. He seduced me, and I was too stressed out, you know, with my routine and all that… too stressed to notice how rude he was." She was now seriously embarrassed. She had been blind enough to sleep with this man who was a truly despicable, megalomaniacal creep, and had even had a go at Adam making out that this scoundrel was some kind of ideal nobleman. She must not let stress get in her way so badly again- she must never let herself be seduced by someone like this. "But anyway, we can't waste time talking, we've gotta get above ground and help the others. Anyone got any ideas?" 

"We can contact Mek and Stratos and ask them to jump down that hole in the wall, I suppose…" said Buzz-Off. 

"That would be too dangerous, they may not survive," said He-Man. 

"Yeah, I mean, I know that, I was being sarcastic. At least, I can't come up with any better ideas than that." 

"Well, did you happen to see my sword anywhere?" asked He-Man. 

"Yes, Mekaneck's got it. He was using it to defend himself against the beasts." 

"Then if we contact him, we can ask him to throw the sword down the pit, and hope it reaches us! Then I should be able to use the sword to call upon more power, and break through the barrier between the dungeon and the ground above!" 

Buzz-Off looked up, into the blackness he had just fallen from. "I suppose it's worth a try," he said, "I'll try and contact Mekaneck now." He pulled out his communication device from his belt, and punched in Mekaneck's code. 

The sound of fierce battle emitted from the control unit, and thousands of growls and roars could be heard from the other side. Amidst these sounds came the strained voice of Mekaneck, "Yeah you're through to Mekaneck! What do you want?" 

"Mek, this is Buzz-Off- I'll make it quick, do you still have the Sword of Power?" 

"Yeah, for now!" 

"Great- I've found He-Man, so if you could try and make it down the corridor on the left side of the throne room, you should see a large gap in the wall where it's given way- drop the sword down that!" 

A few seconds passed without response, then Mekaneck's voice came again, "Okay I'll do my best! But it'll be downright hard with all these things around me!" 

"Just try what you can- if we get hold of the sword, we should be with you soon. If you can't get through, contact me and we'll call for more backup." 

"Okay, sure thing! Over and out!" 

Buzz-Off flicked off the communication unit, and tucked it back into his belt. He-Man looked up, into the extreme blackness above the statue. "Now we can only hope for the best," he said. 

* * *

Mekaneck struggled hard against the huge crowd of jungle beasts around him. He'd managed to injure quite a lot of them with the power sword, and had knocked some of them unconscious, but there were so many of them that the room was completely filled, and he was rapidly losing his strength. The sleeves of his bodysuit had numerous tears in them, from which his blood seeped through the cuts and bites that the creatures had inflicted upon him. And if not for his bionic, super-hard metal neck, the bats would have drunk his blood ages ago. 

Because of the sheer number of creatures that filled the room, he was going to have immense trouble making it through the doorway to the corridor that Buzz-Off had been knocked through. He was relieved that Buzz-Off was alive and relatively safe, and had found He-Man, but getting the sword to him would be an extremely difficult task. 

As another of the bats swooped down at him, Mekaneck swiftly shot up his neck, smashing the bat with his head. The creature gave a cry of pain and dropped to the ground. Mekaneck turned his head to see how Stratos was faring. Soaring through the air, Stratos was more or less safe from the jungle beasts, but he was engaged in a savage combat with the bats. He had relatively few cuts and bites on his body, as his speed had enabled him to dodge most of their attacks, but he was clearly becoming worn out. But given his greater freedom in the air, Stratos just might fare better in getting the sword to He-Man and Buzz-Off than Mekaneck would. 

"Stratos!" called Mekaneck. The lord of Avion spun in the air to face his comrade. 

"Buzz-Off just contacted me!" Mekaneck continued, swishing the sword around him to fend off the beasts. "He's found He-Man and we've gotta get the sword to him! He said to drop it down a gap in that corridor on my right! Would you be able to do this?" 

"I can do my best!" said Stratos, "throw me the sword!" 

Mekaneck swiped the sword through the air one last time, slashing through the skin of two of the beasts, then he quickly tossed the sword into the air, and Stratos caught it firmly by the hilt. 

"Best of luck!" called Mekaneck. As several of the bats made for Stratos, the winged warrior careened swiftly across the throne room, holding the sword ahead of him. He smashed right through the wooden doors that led into the corridor, and flew through into the black corridor beyond. The corridor was so dark that it was hard to make out any details, but his eyes were strong enough to see well in the dark, and aside a grotesque, devilish-looking gargoyle, he made out a large gap in the wall. He heard the wooden doors crash open and shut behind him as the bats flew in after him. He was tempted to fly down the gap in the wall to evade them, but he had no idea of what further dangers may await him down there, and there was no way he could desert Mekaneck and leave him to fight the whole horde of creatures alone. So he simply reached his arm into the gap, and let loose his grip on the sword. The great weapon, shimmering in the darkness, drifted swiftly down into the blackness, and was quickly gone from sight. 

Stratos turned back to face the bats. They were coming right at him, evil eyes glaring at him sharply, mouths open thirstily. But they weren't getting him just yet. He quickly swooped high above them, flew back towards the wooden doors, crashed through them and back into the throne room. Mekaneck was still engulfed in combat with the jungle beasts, and without the power sword, the fight had become harder for him as he had only his strong physique to fight them with. Stratos reached down his arm, and fired a blast from his lasers at the beasts surrounding Mekaneck, causing them to stumble back. 

"I did it," he said to Mekaneck. "Now we can only hope that He-Man comes to our aid in time!" 

Beast Man, with the suffering Darlus sprawled by his feet, watched the warriors curiously from the throne room entrance. He had not quite been able to hear that brief exchange between Stratos and Mekaneck, but he was suspicious of how Mekaneck had thrown Stratos He-Man's sword, and Stratos had flown out of the room with it, then returned seconds later without it. Suspecting He-Man's return may be imminent, Beast Man pulled out his communication unit, and punched in Skeletor's code. 

* * *

In the depths of the dungeon, He-Man, Teela, Malina and Buzz-Off waited patiently, gathered around the statue of Dronicus. 

"I really hope Stratos and Mekaneck are okay…" said Buzz-Off, "Mekaneck sounded worn out, they're gonna be down before too long." 

"And what if he hasn't managed to throw the sword to us?" asked Malina. 

"Well, if we're waiting much longer I'll contact my father and call for backup," said Teela, "Just as long as our warriors can stop Skeletor before he attacks Eternos." 

"But given his new powers… he's gonna be pretty damn hard to beat," said Buzz-Off. 

After a few more moments, the warriors caught sight of a long, shiny object in the blackness above, descending through the air towards them. 

"Look at that…" said Teela, pointing above. 

"It's the sword!" exclaimed He-Man, and the warriors erupted into a cheer. The Sword of Power swiftly descended through the cold, dark air, and He-Man held out his hand. The sword's fall began to slow down as it sensed its master, and the great weapon slowly drifted into the hand of He-Man, its rightful owner. 

Relieved at being reunited with the weapon that was made for him, He-Man prepared to call upon the power of the Elders. He held the sword high above his head, and shouted, "BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" 

Immediately, a burst of blinding white light emitted from the sword, and the other warriors shielded their eyes as the power of the Elders erupted through the chamber. He-Man swirled the sword through mid-air, and streams of light energy emanated from the blade, darting rapidly throughout the chamber at incredible speed. The beams became faster and faster, until a loud BOOM! was heard filling the air, followed by the sound of crumbling rock and stone. 

As the light died down, He-Man and his friends were faced with the relieving sight of open air above them. Gone was the infinite blackness of the dungeon, and in its place, the warriors could see the light of the throne room above them. The power that He-Man had called upon had broken the barrier between the dungeon and the world above ground. It was a long way up- but with the barrier broken, He-Man and his friends were finally free. He-Man was the first person in history to have conquered the dungeon of Castle Dronicus. 

The other three warriors burst into applause. "Well done He-Man!" said Teela, and her and Malina both ran and hugged him simultaneously. 

Just then Mekaneck appeared on the edge of the ground above, and Stratos flew high overhead. 

"He-Man!" exclaimed Stratos, "You did it!" 

"You have fought well, my friends," said He-Man, "and now that we have broken through the dungeon, we can set about putting a stop to Skeletor's evil." 

"I don't think so, He-Man," came the sound of a familiar voice. On the edge of the precipice appeared the gruesome figure of Skeletor, eyes ablaze, with Evil-Lyn standing by his side. 

"I would be lying if I were to say your skill does not impress me," said Skeletor, "but it shall soon pale, in the shadow of the superiority of my own. For, I, Skeletor, now possess the blood of Dronicus within my veins, and reign supreme over this island. Prepare yourself for the final chapter of our conflict, He-Man… for the world you love is about to collapse before your eyes- in the dominance of Skeletor, Lord of Destruction." 

"You just keep dreaming, Skeletor," answered He-Man sternly, "you can never hope to prove a match for the power of Grayskull!" 

Skeletor laughed hollowly to himself. "Maybe not…" he responded, "but of what significance will that be… when I _possess_ the power of Grayskull all for myself!" He turned his head and looked at Beast Man, who had commanded the beasts to back off. "Alright, Beast Man… get them back to work." 

"ATTACK!" Beast Man commanded, and the beasts rushed towards the edge of the precipice ferociously. Mekaneck immediately stumbled back, and fell over the edge. He cried out as he began to fall rapidly, but luckily Stratos swooped down and caught him in mid-air, and flew him safely to the ground below. 

Mekaneck breathed a sigh of relief as his feet touched ground. "Thanks, Stratos," he said, "I thought I was finished there!" 

"No problem, but we could all be finished soon if we don't act quickly!" Stratos looked up at the beasts as they leaped wildly over the edge and down to the ground which had formerly been part of the dungeon. As the bats flew down towards the heroes, the battle was on again. The fight raged all around the former dungeon chamber, watched over by the great statue of the accursed Prince Dronicus. He-Man's sword swiped against animal flesh as he was surrounded by the bloodthirsty demons. Mekaneck struggled to fight off the creatures as they bit at his flesh, as Stratos and Buzz-Off, tired as they were, became engaged in another feat of aerial combat with the bats. 

Teela rapidly threw a series of high punches and kicks randomly around herself to deter and confuse the deadly beasts. As a jungle beast charged at Malina, she quickly seized it by the arms and flipped it over her head. It sailed through the air, then landed right in the pit of spikes, and cried out in pain as the spikes impaled its feral flesh. But then one of the bats flew right at her neck, striking her with its claws and knocking her to the ground violently. Her head hit the urn containing the ashes of Dronicus, which tipped over, and a pile of black ash, which had once been the vindictive tyrant who owned the castle, spilled over the ground around her. Teela quickly jumped to her aid, somersaulting through mid-air and butting the bat away from Malina with her feet. But the creature regained its strength rapidly, and angrily charged forward to attack her. Malina quickly returned the favor by shooting to her feet, seizing the bat by the wings and violently ripping its wings off with all her strength. The wounded bat fell to the ground, bleeding and helpless. But a whole series of jungle beasts then charged towards them, fighting amidst the ashes of the tyrant whose statue looked cruelly down on the whole orgy of violence. The fight was far from over… and it was going to be hard to break through at this rate. 

On the ground far above, as the fight raged below, Skeletor conferred with Evil-Lyn and Beast Man, ready to enact the next stage of his plan. His new soldiers stood assembled in the center of the throne room, awaiting his next command, and the suffering Darlus remained sprawled in the corner. 

"He-Man's escape has been a slight setback," said Skeletor, "I had been hoping he would still be held by the time we reached Eternos, so our attack could be completely safe from his interference. But there is no cause for worry. I shall consume more of the blood of Dronicus, then I will contact my forces back at Snake Mountain to tell them to head for Eternos. There is a chance he may beat Beast Man's jungle beasts, so we must find some other way of keeping him busy whilst we make for Eternos." 

"There must be plenty of traps within the castle that we haven't discovered yet," said Evil-Lyn, "I'm sure we will find something. And besides… if we consume more of the blood of Dronicus, it may give us just enough power to immobilise him ourselves." 

"Then it is time for another taste of the blood," said Skeletor. He turned to face the army. "My soldiers," he began, "You are to go down there and help the beasts keep He-Man busy. Knowing him, he will probably do his best not to hurt you in order to protect your innocence- thus giving you the advantage." 

"But how do we get down there, my Lord?" said one solider, "It is a long drop down." 

"My magic, of course!" said Skeletor, and he shot a beam of power from the palm of his hand at the whole army. They were engulfed by a bright yellow light, and vanished into thin air. Then they appeared down in the dungeon chamber, and immediately launched themselves into battle against the heroes. 

Skeletor then turned his eyes to the pitiful wreck that was Darlus, injured in the corner of the throne room. He briskly walked across the room to Darlus, looked down on his pathetic form in pity, then seized him violently by the neck. 

"And you-" he began, "Never in my life have I set eyes upon one as puny, shallow-minded and pitiful as yourself." He walked across the throne room gripping Darlus by the scruff of the neck. "You probably think you're so strong, surviving the Suffocation Pit- but it is probably a good thing you survived, as you shall now meet the kind of death you truly deserve- one a million times more painful!" He carried Darlus to the other side of the room, and flung him to the ground, then shot a blast at him from the Havoc Staff. Then another! Then another! Darlus' body recoiled in agony as the pain spread throughout his physique. 

Skeletor leaned over, and his blazing red eyes gazed directly into the weak, half-open eyes of Darlus, who gazed up at him feebly. "And this island…" said Skeletor, quietly, "This island that was yours to manipulate for so long… now belongs to me. Your people despised you to extremes… so now they have pledged themselves to me, and your destruction comes as an utmost pleasure to them!" He shot a bolt of burning red power from his fingertip, and it coursed over Darlus' body. Darlus writhed in pain as the bolt burned through his flesh. 

As Darlus lay screaming on the ground, Skeletor turned to face Evil-Lyn. "And now for the blood," he said. "Now we can obtain the power to give Darlus the most painful death imaginable- before we set ourselves upon Eternos." 

They stepped over to the secret door, and Skeletor spread out his arms. The door was unsealed, revealing once again the beautiful fountain of blood trickling through, its peaceful sound contrasting beautifully with the sound of the raging battle behind them. 

Skeletor and Evil-Lyn stepped through, and each took hold of one of two golden chalices they had placed aside the fountain. Simultaneously, they dipped the chalices into the fountain, until both were filled with a luxurious cup of blood. 

The two evil leaders raised the chalices, and looked one another in the eyes. "The ultimate power… belongs to me," said Skeletor. "You, Evil-Lyn, are privileged to share a portion of this great power. Let us drink." 

They toasted, then raised the chalices to their mouths. But as they were about to consume the beautiful, powerful liquid, they were interrupted by a weak shout of "No!… the blood… is… mine!" 

Skeletor and Evil-Lyn spun their heads round to see the feeble figure of Darlus standing in the doorway, hunched over in pain. 

"You… think you… can get away with killing my father… and stealing my island? I will… beat you yet… the power is mine!" 

Skeletor laughed in mockery. "This fool's supreme idiocy cannot cease to astound me! Now he thinks he can drink the blood of Dronicus for himself!" 

"The blood… is all I need… to defeat you!" 

"Going against family values by drinking the blood of the enemy?" mocked Evil-Lyn, "If the blood wasn't too beautiful to be consumed by a fool like you I would let you drink it… for it will bring you nowhere near our power!" 

"The blood… is mine!" said Darlus heavily, and sprang at the chalice that Skeletor was holding. Skeletor raised the chalice away from Darlus' grip, and shot a bolt of energy at Darlus, causing him to stumble back. 

Far below, in the former dungeon chamber, as He-Man fired blasts from his sword around himself to scatter the attacking beasts, he was distracted by the sound of loud noises from above. Looking above, he saw the unsealed doorway in the throne room- the fountain of blood within- and Darlus scrambling feebly for the chalice filled with blood, held by Skeletor. 

"By the Elders!" he shouted, "Darlus is going after the Blood of Dronicus! He's trying to fight Skeletor for it!" 

Teela turned her head from the beast she was fighting, and looked upwards. "I don't believe it… is there no end to his thirst for power?" 

"Of course there isn't- and I _do_ believe it!" answered Malina, not looking away from the fight. 

"I've gotta stop him," said He-Man, "He's endangering himself to extremes!" 

"If you're going up- so am I," said Teela, "he might be more likely to listen to me, and I have to help him see the light!" She somersaulted through mid-air towards He-Man, and gripped onto his arm as she landed. 

"Okay then," said He-Man, "hold on tight!" He bent his powerful legs down, then sprang upwards with all his might, away from the demons which were making to attack him. With Teela gripping onto him, his leap propelled them upwards, until they reached ground level, and landed back on the floor of the throne room. 

They quickly turned towards the secret chamber in which the fountain of blood was running. Darlus was weakly reaching for the chalice Skeletor was holding, as the Lord of Destruction looked down on him, taunting him and firing blasts at him from his fingertips. Holding his sword at the ready, He-Man called, "Darlus, stop!" 

Distracted for a second by the sudden appearance of He-Man, Skeletor's attention was suddenly diverted away from Darlus, who sprang up and abruptly seized the chalice from Skeletor's grasp. 

Darlus gripped the chalice tight in his hand, and looked at He-Man resentfully, madness in his eyes. "You are too late, 'master of the universe'!" he sneered, "the Blood of Dronicus is mine… and I will rule over all Eternia, including you!" 

Teela could not believe her eyes. If this were not for real, it would almost have been funny. "Darlus, no!" she cried, "Listen to me, you've let your insecurity get the better of you… just come with us, we'll help you!" 

"And just the other night I thought you were worthy of my love," spat Darlus. "Well, clearly you are just as stupid and weak as all other women. You will slave under my rule just like all the other pathetic idiots of this world!" He began to walk towards the entrance, gripping the chalice. 

Teela was filled with shock- had she really had feelings for this man? Prince Adam had been completely right- he was just as bad as Skeletor! 

Skeletor and Evil-Lyn simply looked at one another with amusement. There was no way this fool stood a chance of getting the better of them. He-Man turned to follow Darlus as he walked out from the chamber and into the throne room. "Listen Darlus, the power of Dronicus will do you no good, you are following the ways of evil…" 

"Do you really expect me to listen to an idiot like you?!" sneered Darlus, "Now I have the blood… I shall drink!" Slowly, he raised the chalice to his lips. He-Man was about to reach out to seize it off him, but all of a sudden Skeletor and Evil-Lyn appeared out of the blue between him and Darlus, having teleported from the chamber. 

"I think that blood is mine!" said Skeletor, and reached out to wrestle the chalice from Darlus' grasp before he could drink it. Darlus attempted to pull away, and the two of them struggled viciously between them for the blood. As they fought for the singular grip of the chalice, Skeletor quickly took advantage of his powers, and shot a bolt of energy from his bony finger at Darlus' chest. As the bolt hit Darlus, he cried out in pain, and dropped the chalice… which fell to the ground, spilling the blood over the edge of the precipice. The blood dripped down into the fight below- and fell onto the ashes of Dronicus in the center. 

Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Beast Man, Teela and He-Man turned as the blood dripped down, and before Skeletor could pick up the fallen chalice, he noticed something strange happening amidst the fight down below. There was a kind of rumbling sound as the ashes of Dronicus appeared to move- by themselves. They were beginning to rise and form themselves into a solid shape. As they rose higher and higher, the sound of the battle died down as everyone involved in it- the heroic warriors, the soldiers, and even the bats and jungle beasts- turned to watch what was happening, distracted from the fight. The ashes began to solidify, forming an enormous shape that was undoubtedly human in everything but its incredible stature. The features formed, and a pair of blazing red eyes glared down on the warriors below. A mane of flowing black hair ran from the back of the head down to the shoulders, the flesh on the face was white and pale, the nose was thin and sharp, and a pointed, black beard was formed around the deep red lips, from which razor-sharp white fangs protruded. A long, black cape was wrapped around the shoulders and back, and the torso and legs were covered with brown armor, sharp silver plating over the forearms and feet. This was the figure of an evil tyrant resurrected from the dead- the castle's true owner himself, the cruel and accursed Prince Dronicus. 

* * *

Thousands of times bigger in death than he had been in life, Dronicus took one huge step onto the ground of the throne room, and gazed cruelly at Darlus, insanely frothing at the mouth. Opening his mouth slightly, he spoke- in a deep, gruff, slow and twisted voice, "YOU… DARE… TO CONSUME MY BLOOD!" 

Darlus quivered in fear, lying on the ground, truly terrified at the electrifying apparition that stood before him, entirely dwarfing everyone else in the room with its incredible size. "I… I did nothing…" 

"YOUR… ANCESTOR… HE STOLE… MY ISLAND. NOW… YOU SUFFER IN HIS PLACE! YOU… SHALL… PERISH!" 

Dronicus thrust out his huge arm, and a blast of flame erupted from the palm of his hand. The flame poured down on Darlus, and the scream that followed was so loud and filled with unbelievable agony that it echoed throughout the entire throne room. The flames ate violently at Darlus' flesh, which began to blacken and flake away as his body shook wildly with immense pain. Then, all in a second, his frail form exploded entirely, scattering fragments of flesh, blood and bone around the floor. Looking down on the remains of Darlus, Dronicus bent down, and cupped his hands over the floor, gathering up Darlus' blood. Then he raised his huge hands to his mouth, and his eyes lit up with evil ecstasy as he drank the blood. 

Then he turned and looked down at He-Man, Skeletor, Beast Man, Evil-Lyn and Teela, the blood of Darlus dripping from his fangs. He thrust his terrifying glance straight towards Skeletor, and his red eyes beamed down intensely towards the Lord of Destruction. Skeletor backed away slightly. His form was rigid and expressionless, but his red eyes were dimming at the back of their hollow sockets, showing that even Skeletor, with all his evil power, was now engulfed by fear. 

"YOU… DRANK… MY BLOOD… GIVE ME MY BLOOD BACK!" 

"Your… your blood is in there…" said Skeletor nervously, gesturing towards the chamber. "I did drink some of it… but the rest is yours… consume it and we shall rule Eternia together!" 

"YOU… ARE… A FOOL… IF YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE YOU! NOW YOU DIE!" 

Dronicus reached out both his arms, ready to kill Skeletor. Skeletor, in a state of extreme panic, spread his arms forth and fired a stream of power at Dronicus' torso, in the hope of using the tyrant's magic, combined with his own, against Dronicus himself. But he knew it was no use. Dronicus did not even react to the stream of magic, and stood there entirely unhurt, ready to deliver the fatal blow to Skeletor. He lowered his arms, and a series of beams of electric light began to emerge from them, thrusting towards both Skeletor and Evil-Lyn, sending them off their feet, writhing in pain. Then Dronicus clenched his sharp, bloodstained teeth as he concentrated the spell, and Skeletor and Evil-Lyn's forms began to shake, clearly about to explode or crumble… 

Then He-Man stepped forth, and fired a blast from his sword at Dronicus' neck. Dronicus jerked back in shock, and cried out in pain as a beam of power, from the depths of Castle Grayskull, crackled over his throat. The spell on Evil-Lyn and Skeletor was instantly broken, and the two of them fell to the ground, drained of half their energy, but safely alive. 

"He-Man…" said Evil-Lyn, as she and Skeletor got to their feet, "You… saved us?" 

"I cannot allow you to perish- evil or not. We must all work together to defeat this demon." 

"We may be enemies…" responded Evil-Lyn, "but thank you." She smiled faintly at He-Man, and a glimpse of gratitude showed through the fear in her dark eyes. 

"Do not waste your time thanking He-Man!" growled Skeletor, "We must force him into the grip of Dronicus!" 

"You're not going to do yourself much good if you try to fight me at the same time as Dronicus," said He-Man, "face it, his power is much greater than yours… but it may be weaker than mine. You'll only stand a chance against Dronicus… if we form an alliance against him." 

Skeletor hesitated, then reluctantly agreed, "Very well, He-Man. We shall call a truce… until this is over." 

Towering above them, Dronicus struggled in pain, his head thrust back. As the pain dissipated, he raised his head and looked down once again at the warriors before him- fixing his eyes particularly on He-Man. His face showed an expression of amazement that this being, so much smaller than himself, could have inflicted so much pain on him. 

"YOU… MORTAL… DARE TO CHALLENGE THE POWER OF DRONICUS? YOU SHALL… DIE!" 

"He is no mortal," said Teela, standing at He-Man's side, ready for action, feeling safe in the presence of He-Man. "He is He-Man, most powerful man in the universe!" 

"THEN LET'S SEE HOW YOU FARE AGAINST… THIS!" 

Dronicus thrust his arms forth and let loose a rapid stream of thundering, pulsating energy, which shook the entire building as it hit the ground. He-Man, Teela, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn rapidly dodged out of the way as the beams emanated rapidly from Dronicus' huge fingertips. Down below, the bats and jungle beasts were scattering in fear at the sound, the presence of Dronicus having struck fear into their feral hearts. Dronicus fired beam after beam in random directions around the room, and Beast Man was hit, and fell to the ground, stunned. He-Man's agility and high leaps enabled him to dodge the shots easily, but Dronicus was focusing mainly on him, determined to destroy this man who miraculously seemed to have sufficient power to counter him. In all his fury, Dronicus lunged towards He-Man as he landed after dodging a bolt, and shot one of the beams directly at his chest. He-Man quickly swerved his sword in front of his torso… and the beam bounced off the power blade and was instantaneously deflected back at Dronicus. As he was hit in the chest, Dronicus' whole enormous body shook as a loud boom sounded throughout the room, accompanied by the sound of Dronicus' scream. The ancient undead tyrant stumbled back in shock, giving Skeletor, Evil-Lyn, Teela and Beast Man time to recover and catch their breath. 

"You go for it, He-Man!" said Teela in praise. 

The figure of Dronicus before them regained his energy, and cast his evil glance back down on them, eyes blazing directly at He-Man. He was clearly severely angered by He-Man's counter attacks on him. His eyes were a deeper red than before, and his face was completely contorted by his snarl, his fangs protruding repulsively over his beard, dripping with blood. 

"YOU THINK YOU CAN COUNTER ME SO EASILY?!! WELL I SEE YOUR FLAW… YOU DEPEND ON THAT SWORD!" 

Dronicus abruptly lunged his massive form forward, and seized the sword from He-Man's grasp, the weapon appearing tiny in the huge hand of Dronicus. Then he bent his head forward, ready to finish He-Man off for good. His eyes began to literally burn with intense red flames, which began to stretch from his sockets, coursing towards He-Man. He-Man was not quick enough to dodge out of the way, and the flames spread over his mighty physique, turning him into a human torch. 

"No! He-Man!" called Teela in shock. 

The flames engulfed He-Man's body further and further, until they became so severe that his form was no longer visible amidst them. But then, his frame showed through as he struggled against the flames. His burning form began to move slowly towards Dronicus until he stood almost directly below him… then he abruptly sprang up and punched Dronicus in the neck. Despite He-Man's size being miniature by comparison with Dronicus, the blow delivered immense pain through Dronicus' physique, and he immediately stopped firing the beams and cried out in pain, stumbling backwards in shock, dropping the power sword. Then He-Man, the flames dying down altogether, dropped back to the ground and retrieved his sword, completely unhurt by the flames. 

"Well done He-Man!" cried Teela, ecstatically, "I knew you could do it!" 

Dronicus writhed his neck in frustration as he shook off the pain, and took one huge step towards He-Man, growling at him with incredible rage. He was clearly amazed- and furious- that this man seemed so unbelievably powerful. 

Skeletor decided to take advantage of Dronicus' frustration. "Prince Dronicus-" he called, "This man is my mortal enemy- join with me and I will help you defeat him…" 

"SILENCE, FOOL!" the voice of Dronicus echoed throughout the room as he fired a blast of lightning at Skeletor, blowing him off his feet and sending him flying backwards. Then he turned and fixed his eyes on the secret chamber, in which his blood trickled through the fountain. 

"MY… BLOOD…" he uttered, and reached forth, breaking away a chunk of the wall to widen the entrance to the chamber. Then he reached his cupped hand into the chamber, dipped it into the fountain, then brought it to his mouth and began to drink. 

As the blood was re-absorbed into his body, he spread out his arms triumphantly, thrust his head back, and declared "THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE!" 

And with that, his eyes began to blaze, his form was consumed by crackling energy, and he began to grow to an even greater size. Everyone in the throne room and the former dungeon chamber watched dumbfounded as Dronicus, laughing hysterically, grew towards the ceiling- and through it! Pieces of stone and rubble began to crash to the ground, and the evil warriors began to scramble for the door. Then Buzz-Off and Stratos came soaring through mid-air from down below, Mekaneck and Malina holding onto them. 

"We're with you, He-Man!" said Buzz-Off, and the heroic warriors followed the evil warriors to the doors, and ran from the building onto the hill outside. They ran rapidly down the steep slope, and stopped at the bottom of the hill before the undergrowth, panting for breath. Turning and looking upwards, they saw the great figure of Dronicus crashing through the roof of the castle, his entire body surrounded by crackling electric energy. His deafening laugh filled the night air, and he began to shout, in a voice that could be heard over the whole island: 

"PEOPLE OF TRALMAR… I HAVE RETURNED! THE LAST FEW CENTURIES HAVE BEEN SEVERELY EMPTY WITHOUT MY RULE! NOW MY REIGN BEGINS AGAIN! SURRENDER ME YOUR SERVICE… SURRENDER ME YOUR BLOOD! THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE SECOND AGE OF DRONICUS!" 

Citizens all over the island were engulfed by fear and panic over the resurrection of the ancient legend from which they had lived in fear all their lives. After all these years of living in a state of slightly lesser turmoil… Dronicus, the greatest tyrant the island had ever seen, was back! 

Beast Man turned angrily to Skeletor, and growled, "So, great idea, hey boss? You take over this castle to boost your power, and end up reviving this moron thousands more powerful than us who'll have us destroyed in no time! I don't know why we didn't overthrow you ages ago!" 

Skeletor's eyes blazed in fury, and he fired a blast at Beast Man from the Havoc Staff. "You dare to use such words against your master?" 

"Why should I be afraid of what you'll do… when we're _all_ going to get blown apart by this maniac!" 

"Keep calm!" shouted Evil-Lyn, "We might still find a way to defeat him… it'll just mean having to work together with He-Man." 

"Evil-Lyn's right," said He-Man, "Dronicus seems to be much more powerful when undead than he was when alive… but his power was never as great as that of Grayskull. And remember, you now have some of his power within yourselves. If we use our combined powers to fight back at him, our mounted power could be too much for him to handle. Then once he's down I can summon The Sorceress… and she will wipe out his power altogether. We must concentrate our power and spring it on him… it is our only hope." 

Skeletor hesitated, then said, "Very well, He-Man." Then he pondered to himself, and quietly said to Evil-Lyn, "this could easily work to my advantage." 

He-Man raised his sword, and held it high above his head. "Get ready to concentrate your powers. BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!" 

The power of the Elders erupted from the sword, and swirled through the air around the blade in its blinding whiteness. Dronicus, upon seeing the glow of the power, fired a bolt of crackling energy at He-Man from his hand. He-Man just managed to dodge the energy, which hit a bunch of trees, felling them instantly. "Stratos, Buzz-Off, use your aerial skills to distract Dronicus from us!" 

The rulers of Avion and Andreenos simultaneously took to the air and began to fly around Dronicus, taunting him with bolts from Stratos' blasters and Buzz-Off's stun gun. 

"My beasts should be able to help too," said Beast Man, "Wolf-bats, attack!" A series of wolf-bats emerged from the depths of the jungle, and under Beast Man's power, began to fly towards Dronicus. With all the unexpected aerial adversaries flying around him, Dronicus began to fire at them, distracted from He-Man as he summoned the power of Grayskull. 

As the light from He-Man's sword grew brighter and brighter, he began to lower the blade, gripping the hilt tightly with both hands, and touched it to Skeletor's Havoc Staff. The glow began to engulf the staff as the power of the two weapons merged together. 

"Now Skeletor, Evil-Lyn- concentrate all your power together! Summon everything you've got within you!" 

Skeletor's eyes began to blaze, the glow stretching beyond his eye sockets, and a whim of flame spread over the palm of his left hand. He placed his hand together with his staff and He-Man's sword, and Evil-Lyn followed suit, placing both her hands in the center. A massive, blinding glow filled the air between all three powerful warriors, as they combined all their power, and He-Man and Evil-Lyn shut their eyes tight to block out the glow. 

"Elders… give me the power… all the power you have!" 

The glow began to shimmer brightly throughout the air, as He-Man, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn merged their powers like a single entity, feeling their immense combined power pulsate amidst them. 

Opening his eyes slightly, He-Man called, "Stratos… Buzz-Off… move out of the way!" 

The airborne warriors swooped back to the ground, as Beast Man commanded "Wolf-bats- retreat!" and the cloud of wolf-bats quickly dissipated. 

He-Man concentrated his power further as the light grew brighter, and brighter… then he commanded "NOW!" All at once, He-Man, Skeletor and Evil-Lyn released their grip, turned and unleashed their full power, which manifested in the form of a huge burst of white light, that went zooming towards Castle Dronicus faster than the eye, culminating in a huge explosion that filled the entire air, and all the warriors gathered around the hill shielded their eyes as their vision became completely obscured by pure whiteness. It was followed by the sound of a long, loud and agonized scream, which rang through the night air with the sound of a thousand decibels. As the scream died down, so did the light, and the warriors opened their eyes to see a burning castle before them, with a huge hand reaching weakly through the broken rooftop. The hand stood suspended in mid-air for several seconds… then collapsed through the roof, gone from sight altogether. 

Stratos, Buzz-Off, Mekaneck, Malina, Teela and even Beast Man burst into raucous applause. 

"Well done, He-Man!" said Stratos ecstatically. 

"You're brilliant!" shouted Teela, running up to He-Man and hugging him passionately. "You are the best! I've said it before, but you really are!" 

"I'm gonna second that," said Malina, walking to He-Man and hugging him herself. The whole group of warriors rushed up to He-Man and patted him on the shoulders with gratitude. 

"Don't _I_ deserve some credit?" interrupted Skeletor. 

"And I?" added Evil-Lyn. 

"Oh, go on then, thank you both as well!" said Teela, "enemies or not, you did brilliantly!" 

Malina looked up at the castle, which was rapidly crumbling before their eyes. "Is Dronicus dead then?" 

"No…" replied He-Man, "he's undead, meaning he's still conscious. The power of Grayskull will keep his consciousness… so now we just need the Sorceress to remove his power, and he can be imprisoned." 

"That's where our alliance ends, He-Man!" declared Skeletor. He-Man turned to face his enemy. 

"Do you really think I would allow another power-hungry tyrant like myself to _live_… especially one so much more powerful than myself? While I have the advantage… he dies!" And with that, before He-Man could react, Skeletor shot a beam of energy from his finger, and it quickly settled amongst the flames that surrounded the castle, exacerbating them strongly. The whole castle was soon engulfed entirely by powerful flame, which would undoubtedly destroy anyone within it in no time- alive or undead. 

Just then, a group of peasants from the nearby villages, whose curiosity had been stirred by the sounds and light from the hilltop, stirred within the undergrowth, unseen by the warriors. "Look…" one of them said, "Skeletor has destroyed Dronicus… all for us!" 

"Well, nothing to fret about," said Malina, "At least Dronicus' evil has been eliminated from Eternia… for good." 

"And now for you, Skeletor!" said He-Man. Approaching his skull-faced adversary, he said, "We've seen an unexpected turn of events tonight in that you and Evil-Lyn have helped save the day… from a threat you unwittingly brought about yourself, through your evil and corrupt pursuit of power. You have been lucky to have overcome the consequences of your scheme, as you could easily have been destroyed. You should have learned from this experience to leave your evil ways behind and join the side of good… after all, our powers combined made a more than effective force." 

Skeletor threw his head back in laughter. "There you go again, He-Man, preaching all your oh-so-honorable philosophy! My pursuit of power has by no means backfired on me… for I still have the blood of Dronicus within my veins, and am one step closer to obtaining the ultimate power to defeat you! And before long, all the power you currently hold yourself will belong to me! Preach as long as you like… for your days of power are vastly becoming numbered!" 

He-Man looked at Skeletor sternly. "I knew better than to assume you would learn anything from this whole ordeal… but nevertheless, your control of Tralmar is no more. I arrest you in the name of Randor and Grayskull." 

"I don't think so," said Skeletor, "ask my followers." 

Just then, the peasants who had been hiding in the undergrowth emerged, and stepped between He-Man and Skeletor. 

"Skeletor is our savior," one man said, "he saved us from Darlus, and now Dronicus! He is the powerful and just leader whom Tralmar has needed… all this time!" 

"You are mistaken, my friend," responded He-Man, "Skeletor is more evil than Darlus and Dronicus put together. He means only the worst for you." 

"But he has promised us riches…" said a woman, "and will lead us to prosperity!" 

"It's all an act!" said Teela, "He's just been trying to win you over!" 

"Why should we believe you?" said another man, "Skeletor has far more power and charisma than you. And besides, we've been told all about the Masters, and how they spread lies to get the people to follow their devious ways!" 

"We are nothing but honest," said He-Man, "we live to defend the people of Eternia against the likes of Skeletor…" 

"Then why were you going to let Dronicus live?" said one peasant. 

"Yeah, we saw that!" added another, "You were gonna let him live, so Skeletor finished him off for the best! We know you're just out to deceive us!" 

"Yeah, we want Skeletor!" 

Shouts of "Hail Skeletor!" and "Skeletor the savior!" quickly spread across the crowd of peasants. 

"See?" said Skeletor smugly, turning to He-Man. "Not much you can do to drive me from the island while all the natives want me here, is there? I think you had better go, He-Man… and leave me to begin my new rule in peace." 

The peasants erupted into a cheer, and surrounded Skeletor, Evil-Lyn and Beast Man. The Masters looked at one another in dismay. The people of Tralmar really had made up their minds… Skeletor had truly succeeded in conquering this island. 

Another group of peasants emerged from the trees, and walked towards He-Man. "And if you stay here…" one of them said, "this is what you're getting!" They all brandished burning sticks at the Masters, holding the flames to their faces. 

"And you'll get these too…" added Beast Man, and the horde of wolf-bats flew into the air above the Masters, ready to attack. 

The Masters looked at one another silently. It was going to be extremely hard to drive Skeletor from the island now, with the whole island and Beast Man's creatures on his side. If the Masters were to fight back… it would only hurt innocent people. 

He-Man turned back to face the peasants and Skeletor. "Very well," he said, "we shall leave Tralmar for the time being. But I hope you will realize the immense evil you have allowed to control you… and remember that we, the Masters, are always at hand when you need us." 

His statement was met only by jeers and mocking shouts. Turning to his comrades, He-Man said, "We must leave now… but not for the last time." And slowly, He-Man and his friends walked off into the undergrowth, until they were gone from sight. 

The peasants immediately turned to hail their new ruler. "So, my reign begins," said Skeletor, and turning to Evil-Lyn, added, "and now, with the power of Dronicus, and one more kingdom of Eternia under my rule, I have come significantly closer to my conquest of all Eternia. Even though we failed to keep He-Man out of the way before we could attack Eternos… I have still gained incredible power." 

"Absolutely," added Evil-Lyn, "and I am sharing part of that power with you… soon we will possess everything we need!" 

"But Master…" interrupted Beast Man, "if the blood of Dronicus was meant to be indestructible, perhaps some of it is still in that wreck? Dronicus only drank a bit of it…" 

Skeletor was not listening. "Quiet, Beast Man!" he snapped. "I have plans to make. So, Evil-Lyn, we must make another attack on Eternos soon to test my new powers… I will appoint an agent to rule this island in my name, and then I can concentrate on another scheme to bring me closer to Grayskull…" 

"But Master…" Beast Man pleaded, "Perhaps there could be…" 

It was no use. Skeletor wasn't listening. Beast Man hated having to work for this tyrant… he didn't deserve to be treated like dirt all the time. He turned his glance towards the wreck that had once been Castle Dronicus, as the flames began to die down. And out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small, black-robed figure emerge from the side of the burning wreck, holding some kind of large, metal barrel. The figure began to run down the hillside, seemingly drinking from the barrel. Beast Man quickly turned to Skeletor, and said "Master, look at…" But Skeletor wasn't listening. Instead, he began to make his way towards the undergrowth with Evil-Lyn and the peasants, ready to sort out his rule of Tralmar. Looking back to where the figure had been, Beast Man saw no sign of it. Whoever it was had run down into some other part of the dense undergrowth, concealed from view. 

Beast Man shrugged, and followed his master through into the undergrowth, ready to obey his next command as he continued his never-ending conquest of Eternia. 

* * *

As morning arose over the city of Eternos, Prince Adam leaned silently over a window ledge in the palace corridor, peering out onto the towers of Eternos as they were bathed in the orange morning sunlight. It had been a strange and eventful couple of days, and he was exhausted, though he didn't quite feel like sleeping as he had so much on his mind. As peaceful as this city remained, as untouched as the city towers were… Eternia as a whole was now a less peaceful place than it had been three days ago. Skeletor had gained an incredible boost of power, and now ruled over another part of Eternia all for himself, and it had been truly tragic how easily he had succeeded in seducing the people of Tralmar. Even though he had not managed to consume all the blood of Dronicus, or use his new power on Eternos… he was the undoubted victor of this ordeal. And he would doubtlessly take the chance to use his new power on Eternos before long… so Adam was restless in knowing that his next violent ordeal was approaching any day now. 

_Why me?_, Adam thought to himself. _Why do I of all people have to be saddled with the burden of being Eternia's defender?_ He had to suffer with guilt at the times when Skeletor emerged victorious… and was allowed barely a moment of peace in his whole life. The thought troubled him of how this whole world that he had grown up in and loved passionately all through his childhood could easily be destroyed any day now… and if he failed to save it, the whole responsibility for its downfall would be placed on him. Why did the whole fate of the planet have to depend on him? 

And as selfish as it may have seemed, the damage that his role as defender had done to his personal life only made him hurt even more. His split personality complex, exacerbated first by the contrast between Teela's feelings for Adam and He-Man, and now his acquaintance with Malina, who had fallen for him as Adam, was making him increasingly unsure about who he really was, and who really knew him… had either of these women fallen for the real him? 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden presence of Teela behind him. "Oh, there you are Adam," she said, laying her hand on his shoulder. "Have you heard about… what happened to Darlus in Tralmar?" 

"Um… yes," he replied. 

"It's tragic, for sure," she said, "I'm wishing I'd never had any involvement with him, he was such a tragic character and I failed to help him see the light before his arrogance led to his death. Because in my blindness, I mistook him for a true nobleman and was too foolish to see how corrupt he really was. My lust for him probably only fuelled his Ego. But I have to take back everything I said to you, Adam… you're in no way worse than him. You're so much better, you'll always mean the world to me. I went too far with snapping at you the other day, and I can't let myself go astray any more. I'm not going to rant or complain at you… ever again. You are wonderful. I'll never let you believe I think otherwise." 

Adam felt his heart lift at her compliments. At least that reassured him that he really was a good person at heart… whoever he really was between the split personalities and the acts he had to follow. 

"It's… alright," he responded, "I understand. I'm not holding it against you… really. And don't feel guilty about the whole Darlus thing… stress can blind me easily too." 

"Yes… well, I just know I'll never be stupid enough to get involved with someone like Darlus again. I know just what I need in a man… and I know many much better men than him. And there's one who I will always love the most… in all circumstances." 

He looked at her hopefully, gazing upon her with affection. "Who… might that be?" he said. 

"He-Man." Teela replied. 

"I… thought so," said Adam, and turned back to the window. Teela stayed and spoke to him a little longer, but he didn't take any of it in. He was just confused… if Teela thought he was wonderful both as Adam and He-Man, why did she always insist on preferring He-Man? What did he have as He-Man that he didn't as Adam? Had she fallen for his act or his real personality? He then remembered that he had arranged to meet Malina later today in a restaurant in Eternos. He was highly tempted to cancel, knowing it would probably fuel his insecurity even more. Especially remembering her last words to him when they had met briefly at the palace after he had arrived back from Tralmar and changed back to Adam… "Don't listen to Teela, Adam. She's a bitch and doesn't know what she's talking about. I know she loves He-Man, and well, I've been hanging out with him these last two days and he's a nice guy, but very boring. He's far too perfect. There's only one person who interests me at the moment… and that's you. You're great just how you are now." 

His head lowered slightly to gaze directly at the window ledge itself. No-one knew him for real… not even himself. He would give anything right now to be free of this curse inflicted upon him by Grayskull, and just live life as the person he really was. But he was bound by rules to maintain this double life, and further sabotage his personal life for the sake of protecting the planet from being taken over by Skeletor. 

Which, at this present moment, looked increasingly likely to actually occur. 

* * *

Mosquitor's Fan Fiction 


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